Red Hawk
by Brittsie-95
Summary: Kestrel has grown up in the shadow of her relatives and is determined to make herself a name in the world. She wants to be someone that everyone knows; someone people respect, and fear. She's going to become a pirate of legendary status, even if it kills her. Keen-Eyes rewrite.
1. The Kings Beginning

**A/N:** So when I began my One Piece story I went in pretty much blind. I didn't really know what the hell was happening and just kinda winged it. But now that I've watched it a bit more time, and thanks to some knowledge from CocoGirlRevised(Go check her out ;D) I know a lot more than I did. And boy - was Kestrel's involvement a jumbled mess. Thankfully I've gotten it all figured out and have more desirable results thanks to it. Since we were only a couple of chapters in I didn't feel the ned to announce the rewrite, or make some big deal out of it.

Overall I'm very happy with Kestrel's story now and look forward to writing it. I'm very into One Piece at the moment. So, that's what I'll be focusing for the most part.

Oh. And stop asking about Sacred Light. Yes, it's being worked on. Yes, it's taking a while. I'm not going to publish it half-assed just because people want me to. No one in their right mind wants to read a sloppy story.

* * *

 **Red Hawk**

 _"Life is either a daring adventure of nothing at all."_

 **Summary:** Kestrel has grown up in the shadow of her relatives and is determined to make herself a name in the world. She wants to be someone that everyone knows; someone people respect, and fear. She's aware that the journey won't be easy, especially with Luffy as her Captain, and an annoying swordsman constantly making her life hell, and one of the most dysfunctional crews she's ever come across. But Kestrel knows that one day she'll look back on these days, and have no regrets for the adventure that was on the sea isn't always grand...but she wouldn't trade it for all the treasure in the world.

 **Warning:** This story contains explicit language, violence, death, gore, and mentions of sexual content. If that doesn't suite your cup of tea, then I suggest you look elsewhere.

* * *

Wealth, fame, power. The man who had acquired everything in the world, the Pirate King, Gold Rodger. The finals words that were said at his execution sent the people to the seas.

 _"You want my treasure? You can have it! I left everything I gathered together in one place. Now you just have to find it!"_

These words lured men to the grand line, pursuing dreams greater than they ever dared to imagine. This is the time known as...

 _ **The Great Pirate Era**_.

* * *

 _Dear Gods, what am I doing with my life? Buying sissy little diaries, and embarking on some crazy adventure with my even crazier best friend/sworn brother. Could it be that I'm just as crazy? - no. What am I talking about?! Luffy's practically the king of craziness! But I didn't buy this stupid thing to vent about Luffy; there's not enough paper in the world for that. The reason I bought this dumb book is because, well, it's pretty obvious, I mean - look! I don't know why I bought this stupid thing, ok?! Maybe it has to do with that stupid feeling I get whenever I pick this dumb, little leather book up, as if the possibility of someone knowing about our adventures excites me, or something. Or maybe I keep it so even if we die(which is a HUGE possibility with Luffy as Captain), that they'll look back in this dumb boo and know that we lived a live full of adventure and excitement; a life without any regret._

 _Shit. There I go getting all sentimental. Mom always said that once you got me talking there was no shutting me up. Gods above, I miss her...great. There I go again. How 'bout I start from the beginning, yeah?_

 _For as long as I can remember Luffy has had the dream of becoming King of The Pirates; I've always been there to support him, even if I think his dram is completely crazy and going to get us killed - but mine is no better. Though a rookie, I gotta admit that Luffy has great potential to become something in this world - something more than someone's shadow. Honestly, I didn't understand his dream all that much when I was a kid; neither did I understand the promise he made, not as much as I do now. In my mind he was just throwing his life away, and chasing after the impossible. Man, I'm such a hypocrite. But even to this day Luffy has stayed true to his dram._

 _I wasn't surprised at all that I was one of the first people to be asked to join him on his quest to become Pirate King. There was no way I could say no to him. That would like punching the worlds dumbest, and cutest puppy in the face; you just can't do it. Well, unless you're some kind of sick that is. And so that how I joined Luffy, taking the role of the crews weapon smith. I've always had a thing for weapons, so the job sounded perfect for me, though I could have easily become First Mate. So now my days are set, sailing alongside my brother as he takes on the world to accomplish his dream. Of course I have a dream of my own, ya know!_

 _I want to become something of a legend in this damn world. I'm sick of walking in other people's shadows. I have a name and this world is going to know it - one day! I'm going to become that's feared and respected and when people hear my name they'll bow down in respect! Alright. Maybe that's taking it too far. But I'm still going to become a badass pirate! Mark my words._

 _It's what I'm destined to do; it's my dream._

 _But that dreams seems so very far away at the moment. Neither Luffy or I have any sense of direction, so we're always getting lost, and ending up in some bizarre predicament._

 _Like being swallowed by a whirlpool, having our boat destroyed, and taking shelter inside of a dingy barrel to escape, so that my idiotic brother wouldn't sink to the bottom of the ocean like a dumb rock._

 _A rocky start, for an incredible adventure to be had._

* * *

 _God fucking dam it! This is such complete bullshit! How the hell do we even get into these situations?!_

Kestrel groaned as the rough ocean waves crashed against the barrel that she, and her brother and Captain were stowed away in, tossing them around like a couple of rag-dolls in the limited bit of space. Kestrel had lost track of how many splinters she had picked out of her skin, and could no longer ignore the throbbing pain from the lump on her head that she had gotten from being thrown around the barrel. Kestrel didn't believe things could get any worse. But of course, they did.

 _What the hell is happening?_ Kestrel held her breath as she peaked out of one of the holes scattered through the barrel. Though her sight was limited, she could see that the barrel they were in was being plucked out of the ocean, and taken aboard a ship of some kind. Kestrel could heard the raspy sound of men as they spoke; she wasn't able to hear what they were saying over the wind. It didn't help that her head was throbbing and making it harder to focus, either.

Kestrel sighed quietly and leaned back. Her golden eyes glared at the sleeping face of her comrade; Monkey D. Luffy. Kestrel narrowed her eyes at him. _This is your fault, idiot!_ If it weren't for the tight space she probably would of hit him with her fist, of love. Kestrel scowled and tucked her fist under her chin as she watched the raven-haired boy sleep peacefully, one hand folded over his chest, and the other securing the straw hat on top of his messy head.

Kestrel glared disdainfully at the hat. After a minute she turned her head to the side, sighing once more. _My back is killing me. how long have we been stuck in this stupid things - what the hell have we gotten ourselves into?_

Kestrel let out a small, tired groan as the metal of her sword began to dig into her already stiff back; her pistols digging into her thighs weren't helping, either.

Her eyes twitched as the barrel was roughly tipped onto it's side, and then rolled along the ground. Kestrel had to wonder if it was too late to turn back around and go home. Dadan probably missed her...

 _Hah! They were probably still celebrating that they were finally gone._

* * *

Kestrel had fallen asleep at sone point only to be awoken to the sound of people talking. She stirred inside of the barrel and lazily cracked her golden eyes open at Luffy, who was still asleep. Go figure. Kestrel shook her head and pressed her ear to the barrel as she listened to the people chat among themselves.

"Well is it isn't our favorite coward!" One of the voices speak; gruffly. Definitely male.

Kestrel frowned and stroked the pistols attached to the holsters on her thighs. It was more than like that these people were pirates and wouldn't hesitate to attack them. With Luffy out cold, she needed to be ready for anything.

"You trying to hide in here and duck out on all the action again?" The voice continued, tauntingly.

"W-What?! N-n-no way! I-I was just trying to haul this big barrel of beer over to you guys!" A new voice piped up. Small and squeaky, and definitely younger.

Kestrel suppressed a laugh. They thought there was beer in the barrel, eh? Well then! Weren't those son'sa bitches in for a surprise!

The man from earlier chuckled. "Why don't you let us have a look?"

"I was just starting to get thirsty." A newcomer said.

"You can't! Lady Alvida would kill us if she ever found out!" The boy protested.

Kestrel frowned and her eyebrows furrowed. Lady Alvida? The name had a familiar ring to it, and definitely sounded like the name of a pirate. Maybe she had seen her wanted poster somewhere?

"She won't if you keep ya trap shut," another man warned. "Right, boy?"

"Y-yeah! Right...he..he...ok..."

A grunt breezed past Kestrel's plump lips as the barred was tipped right-side-up. She honestly wouldn't be surprised if she developed some nasty case of motion sickness or claustrophobia when all was said and done.

"This suckers heavy!" one of the men complained.

Kestel's eye twitched as her fingers grazed her pistol. Did he just call her fat? _No. That's not the case. Those idiots still believe this barrel is full of beer._ But that didn't make her want to kill him any less.

"Hold on boys. I'll open it the old fashioned way!" The first man said over the sound of knuckles cracking.

 _Going to bust his way in the? Typical man._ Kestrel though while rolling her eyes.

Kestrel's attention was taken from the pirates as movement caught her attention. She couldn't keep the smirk off her face as her Captain finally awakened from him slumber. Kestrel tucked herself back against the barrel as Luffy stretched his rubbery body high; busting his way through the lid of the barrel, and accidentally socking a burly, dark-skinned man in the face as a grin stretched over his face.

"I SLEEP SOOOO GREAT!" Luffy roared to the heavens. He was completely oblivious to everything going on around him.

Kestrel grinned as she too stood and stretched her achy body. She blissfully moaned as her bones popped, finally relieving some of the tension she felt from before. She turned to Luffy with her arms lazily pressed behind her head.

"Always the the flashy entrance, aye Cap'n?" Kestrel grinned. "But let's never do that again, yeah? I got enough aches to last me a damn lifetime!"

Luffy ignored Kestrel in favor of staring at the unconscious man on the floor. He blinked slowly. "Huh? Who's that? And who the hell are you guys?" Luffy addressed the other two pirates who were looking at them with slacked jaws.

"Who the hell are you?!" The pirates yelled back.

Luddy ignored their question. "Your friend will catch a cold sleeping like that." He told them in warning.

"You're the one who knocked him out!"

Kestrel snorted and eye the pirates with a frown. "You guys don't look like much. It's a shame. It's been a while since I have a good fight."

"Hold up!" One of the men yelled while pressing the blade of his sword to Luffy's neck. "Are you messing with us because you know we're pirates?! Huh?!"

The man went unheard as Luffy crouched in front of a pink-haired boy with round glasses. "I'm starving. You got any food?"

"Hey - I'm talking to you!" The man boomed.

The two pirates raised their swords together and swung them down at Luffy, who still had his back to them. In a flash Kestrel was between the men and Luffy with her dual pistols pointed to their heads. The bronze and gold glimmered in the light; her gold eyes stared steely at them.

"You even think about touching a single hair on his head and you die, understand?" She glared, brushing her gloved hands against the triggers.

The men froze with sweat trickling down their face. Luffy finally decided to take notice of them. "What is wrong with you two?" He questioned them.

"W-Who are you?!"

"Me?" Luffy grinned and cross his arms over his chest. "My names Monkey D. Luffy - hi!" Luffy laughed making Kestrel grinned.

Kestrel decided to introduce herself as well. "And my name Kestrel! Remember that name because sooner or later, the whole world is going to know it!"

The men screamed and fled from the room with their tails tucked between their legs, and their unconscious friend dragging behind them. They were probably off to tell their Captain; Kestrel wasn't bothered. They didn't seem like the most threatening crew. She was more than sure that she and Luffy could handle them.

* * *

The pink-haired boy stared at the two of them in shock. The first one was a boy with black hair, wearing a red vest and blue shorts, and he had a straw hat.

The girl on the other hand...

She looked to be about five-foot-four; give or take. Her skin was a pale shade of brown, and her hawk-like eyes a sharp golden color. Her red hair was long and messy, falling to her upper back. It seemed like she tried to keep it contained with a dark red headband, though it didn't do much as her hair just messily fell over it. He couldn't help but stare at the scar that curved over her face, though when she sent a glare his way he quickly looked away. It took him a moment to look back at her. He could see that she had piercings as well; three silver clips in her left ear, and then two gold in her right. Figure wise, she appeared to be scrawny; but he could definitely make out the muscle definition on her, and the curves hidden beneath her clothes - though they weren't very pronounced.

He moved from her face to the ink scribbled about her body. He could see the words "FALCON KESS" tattooed on her knuckles. And that she had some kind off odd crest tattooed over her left collarbone; something like a mountain. From the way her tank top drooped, he could just barely see another tattoo on her right side, but he didn't dare stare too long.

Her outfit was a loose fitting white tank top that tucked into a pair of tan aviator pants. A bomber jacket was tied tightly around her waist, and a pair of dirty, distressed, brown boots fit her feet. A brass compass dangled from her neck, forged into a makeshift necklace. He noticed she was also wearing a brown utility belt that seemed to be stuffed to the brim as it hung limply from her waist. Brown leather gloves adorned her hands; holes had been cut out for her fingers. Lastly, were the leather holsters strapped to her thighs where she kept her dual brass pistols. If he would have looked down at her boots once more, he would have seen the set of combat boots strapped to them.

"S-So...what just happened?" The boy asked completely dumbfounded.

"Stop staring at me." Kestrel hissed which made him look away quickly.

"You got me." Luffy shrugged.

"What kind of pirates run away from a fight? There's no honor in that!" Kestrel scowled and cocked her hip out. "I got the itch to beat the shit our of something!" Kestrel glanced at the pink-haired boy who flinched, making her smirk.

The boy quickly shook away his nervousness when he remembered the pirates who ran away from them. "Ah! Quick! You two have got to run! If those guys come back here with their buddies they'll kill you on the spot!"

"So?" Kestrel blinked.

"I don't care about that; I'm hungry!" Luffy announced with a grin on his face.

"How can you just blow this off like that?!"

Kestrel sighed. Her headache was coming back in full bloom. "Kid, you're seriously annoying!" she growled. "What the hell are you doing here anyway? You in pirate training boot camp, or something? Ya stick out like a sore thumb."

"This is not time for joking!" He yelled. _She wasn't joking_. "There are hundreds of pirates up on deck and their waiting for the chance to kill anything!"

"Oh, yeah?" Kestrel grinned adjusted the sword on her back. "Bring it on then."

* * *

Kestrel sat on top of one of the many crates that were crammed together in the food storage room. Her sword was placed safely in her lap, allowing her to lean back against the wall comfortably. She was munching away on an apple as Luffy began his second crate; the boy was a bottomless pit - not that she was any better. Kestrel finished her apple and tossed the core into the growing pile beside her; Luffy tossed her another one, she nodded her thanks and began to chew at it.

"Uh hey, my names Coby," Pinkie said. "You're Luffy, is that right? And you're Kestrel? That was pretty neat when you jumped out of that barrel, and when you drew you guns back there.."

Luffy held up an apple and with a mouth full of food said: "There are awesome!" and then went back to stuff his face. "So, are we on a pirate ship, or what?"

"No. It's a passenger ship that's being raided by pirates under the command of Lady Alvida."

"Lady Alvida?" Kestrel hummed in thought and tossed her finished apple into the pile. "The name kinda sounds familiar; but I can't place a face."

"And who cares anyway?" Luffy asked. "What I want to know is if there are any boats on board!"

"I think there a few." Coby said.

"Great, 'cause ours got sucked into some big whirlpool." Luffy replied in a nonchalant manner.

Coby gasped. "That one outside?! No way! No one could have survived that!"

"Yeah! I gotta say it was a big surprise." Luffy laughed.

Kestrel idly tossed the apple she had replaced up and down a couple of times before taking a big bite out of it. Her face scrunched at the taste. Soure. She glared at the apple and spit it out, tossing what was left of the apple to Luffy, who happily gobbled it down.

"That whirlpool is the reason we ended up on this dump of a ship." Kestrel said. "Hey, Pinkie, are you one of the pirates, or one of the passengers?"

Coby frowned and looked down at the ground with sad eyes. "It was on a fateful day long ago..." he began and Kestrel internally groaned. Great. She asked one question and he goes into his life story.

"That day, I stepped out onto a small fishing boat on the outskirts of town to catch my dinner," Coby began. "It turned out that boat actually belonged to a pirate ship! That was two years ago. In exchange for them letting me live, I'm forced to live the life of a cabin boy."

"You're pretty stupid, you know that?" Both Luffy and Kestrel said.

"Jeez, thanks for you honesty." Coby mumbled.

"If you hate it here so much leave." Kestrel said to him. "The only one holding you back is yourself."

"Are you kidding?! I can't do that! No way! Not a chance! Nu-uh! Not a chance! Just the thought of Alvida finding me scares me so bad that I want to throw up!"

"You're a moron!" Luffy laughed giddily. "Hahaha! I hate people like you!"

"And a coward." She deadpanned.

Tears streamed down Coby's face at the insults being thrown his way.

 _Do they have to be so blunt?_

"Yeah, you're right. If I actually had the courage I could drift alone in a barrel, and be rid of these pirates. I actually have my own dreams! Someday, I'd like to live out all of them..." Coby smiled softly. "So, what about you guys? What was it that first got you to set sail on these seas?"

"Well I'm gonna be King of The Pirates!" Luffy declared proudly.

"And I'm going to be a pirate of legendary status!" Kestrel grinned.

"The King?!" Coby choked. "Are you serious?! B-But that would mean that you're pirates too!"

"Yeah!" Luffy said giddily. "Kess is all I have so far; but I'm looking for more." Luffy shrugged and went back to eating apples.

"King of The Pirates is a title given to someone who has attained everything this world has to offer! You're talking about seeking the one treasure of great wealth, fame, and power! The treasure that you're seeking is the _One Piece!_ "

"Yeah!" Luffy cheered.

"Pirates from all over the world are looking for that treasure, you know!"

"Yeah, so?" Kestrel raised a brow at him.

"No-no-no! No way! It's impossible! There's no way you two could reach the pinnacle of this great pirate age; there's no way! There's too many people out there who are meaner and better!"

Kestrel scoffed.

 _What's he getting all worked up for? Pretty big words coming from a run of the mill cabin boy. No one has the right to tell us what is and isn't possible! That's for us to decided, and us only. I'm not going to take the advice of some scrawny little twerp!_

Kestrel was more than pleased when Luffy bonked him on the head.

"Ow! Why did you hit me?" Coby whined, rubbing his sore head.

"Because I felt like it." "Because you're annoying."

"Oh well," Coby bitterly laughed. "I'm used to that stuff. My ship mates smack me around a lot."

"It's not about if we can," Luffy said. "I'm doing this because I want to. I decided long ago that I'm going to become King of the Pirates," Luffy looked at Kestrel who was smiling at him. "And Kess's dream is to become a Legendary Pirate! If we have to die doing that, then we die." Luffy stood up and plopped his hat back on his head. "Alright! Now that my bellies full it's time to go get us a brand new boat! They might even give us one if we ask nice enough; maybe they're generous people?"

"Generous pirates?" Kestrel deadpanned. Kestrel grabbed her sword from her lap and placed it back on her back. She made sure it was loose enough so she could

"You never know. They could be nice."

"Nice pirates?" Kestrel snorted. "Get real."

"If I put my mind to it - if I'm prepared to die for it - could I do something like that?"

Luffy and Kestrel looked back at Coby.

"Like what?" They asked.

"Do you think...do you think I could ever join the Marines?"

"The Marines? Kestrel frowned. "Why the hell would you want to do that?" Kestrel has a very...unpleasant view of Marines, for the most part. She didn't like how corrupt they were, and how they acted as if they were heroes of the world.

"Yes!" Coby suddenly shouted. "Catching bad guys is the only thing I've ever wanted to do! It's been my dream since I was a child!" _You're not a child?_ "Do you think I could do it?!"

"How should I know that?" Luffy laughed.

"I guess, but why the hell would you want to?" Kestrel cocked a brow.

"Then I'm going to do it! I'm not going to get stuck here as a cabin boy for the rest of my life! I'll break out. Then, I'll turn right back around and catch Alvida myself!"

It was at that moment something crashed through the ceiling - something large, and round, and very, very, ugly.

"Who is that you plan on catching, Coby?" A female voice called. It was rapsy and gruff, and sounded like someone who smoked their whole life. "And you actually think this twig and this runt are going to help you? - well, answer me!"

Runt? Who the hell was she calling a runt?! Kestrel puffed out her chest and pointed dramatically at the woman. "Who the fuck are you calling a runt you - you oversized water buffalo!"

Kestrel was so pissed off that she didn't even notice Luffy jumping up on the deck of the boat with her in tow; until her feet were place on the ground, and they were surrounded by pirates.

"My guess is that you're Zoro the Pirate Hunter." Alvida smirked at Luffy.

Kestrel couldn't contain her laughter. Luffy? A pirate hunter? Hah! His life is dedicated to becoming the King of Pirates! Kestrel didn't think that Luffy was about to switch up jobs anytime soon. Though...they would make a shit ton of cash from it.

"Zoro?" Luffy repeated.

"Coby!" Alvida yelled. "Who is the most beautiful of all on these seas?"

Kestrel's eye twitched. "Is...is...she serious?"

"Well, I um...give me a sec, I-I know this."

Luffy pointed at Alvida with a confused face. "Hey Coby, who's the fat lady?"

All the pirates, Coby's, and Alvida's mouth dropped in shock. Kestrel cracked up laughing and had to hold onto her side or else she probably would have fallen over from how hard she was laughing!

 _"YOU RUUUUUUUNT!"_

Alvida roared and pulled out a metal club from behind her back that she aimed at Luffy and Kestrel. Both jumped out of the way as she swung the weapon and missed; instead smashing a giant hole through the deck. Kestrel took a minute to admire the weapon. A beast like Alvida wasn't worthy of such an amazing tool!

Luffy jumped down in the hole created by Alvida and scooped up Coby, dropping him on the deck. One by one the pirates started to attacking him; but Luffy easily out ran them. Kestrel reached for the sword on her back and charged at a pirate who was sneaking up behind Luffy. She cut him off just as he raised his sword above his head and slashed her sword across his stomach. It wasn't a very deep cut; enough to make the Marine sink to his knees in howling pain. She then pulled one of her pistols from her holsters and aimed it at a pirate who decided to take her on. She counted down to three in her head and pulled the trigger, not even flinching as it tore through his shoulder. The pirate screamed in agony as he clutched his bleeding wound. His weapon clattered to the floor leaving him defenseless. Kestrel took this opportunity to run up on him and slam her boot into his face; smirking at the sickening crunch his nose made. She jumped back as blood began to gush from his nose and the pirate fell unconscious.

Kestrel looked back at the pirates with a wicked grin. "Who's next?"

The pirates back away from her fearfully. Kestrel chuckled and looked over at Luffy who was stretching himself across the boat; stunning every pirate on board. It must have been the first time they seen someone with Devil Fruit powers.

"Gum-Gum Rocket!"t

Kestrel ducked down as Luffy went soaring over her head. She knew to do it from past experiences. "Over-kill don'cha think, Cap'n?" She grinned cheekily as the pirates dropped to the ground like flies.

"L-Lufy w-what are you?" Coby asked in awe.

"Huh? Oh! I'm a rubber man!" Luffy grinned and stretched his mouth out.

"So you're...made of rubber?"

"So," Alvida glared. "You've eaten one of the Devil Fruits?"

"Yeah! I ate the Gum-Gum one!"

"Ah-ha. I've heard rumors they existed, but I never saw any evidence of them until today. You're more skilled than the average deck swabber. Are you a Bounty Hunter?"

"I'm a pirate!" Luffy said.

"Pirate? Ha! All by yourself on these waters?" Alvida laughed. She found the idea of a runt like Luffy being a pirate comical.

"I'm not alone; I have Kess with me," Luffy pointed at her."And we're going to get a bigger crew. Maybe tomorrow, or next week... or something. I don't know. I need, maybe ten guys. Yeah, ten."

Alvida snorted at him. "Tell me, if we're both pirates, and we're not under the same flag; then that would make us enemies, am I right?" She grinned cruelly. Kestrel wanted nothing more than to smack the grin off her fat, ugly face.

Coby started to ramble again but then stopped. He turned and bravely faced Alvida with a heart full of determination.

"You're the most ugliest thing on the sea!" Coby yelled. Luffy and Kestrel immediately started cackling like hyenas at his insults towards his former Captain.

"What did you say?!" Alvida yelled through gritted teeth.

"I'm leaving and I'm going to join the Marines! And then I'm going to spend the rest of my life beating up dirty pirates like you!"

"Do you have any clue what you're saying to me right now?!"

"Of course I do!" he said. "And I'm going to do what I want and no one's going to stop me! And when I join the Marines, I'm going to join them! _AND I'M GOING TO CATCH YOUR LOUSY ASS FIRST!"_

"YOU'RE DEAD KID!"

"Well said!" Luffy said, protecting Coby from Alvida's club.

"You got some balls, kid!" Kestrel grinned and pointed the back of her gun at Alvida's fat head. "Move and die."

Luffy punched Alvida in the gut that was quickly followed by Kestrel kicking her in the chin; both attacks sending her flying into the ocean. Kestrel whistled as she landed in the water with a _'plop'_ that was followed by a large wave of water that rocked the boat. She was so busy watching Alvida return to her natural habitat, that she hadn't even noticed Luffy had grabbed hold of her hand and was dragging her away from the pirates who lay defeated.

As they were leaving the ship she spotted Alvida's discarded club and eagerly picked it up. It would make a fine addition to her collection, and serve as reminded of their win over Alvida.

* * *

"We actually managed to get away!" Coby said in total disbelief.

"Ah! What fun!" Luffy chuckled. "Hahahaha!"

Kestrel groaned and stretched her body out. "I'm just thankful to be out of that fucking barrel! It feels good to be able to stretch my muscles again, ya know?" she grinned at Luffy who shared her feelings. The boat they were using might now have been very big; but it was better than nothing.

"So, Luffy, Kestrel, if you're searching for the elusive One Piece, then you have to be headed for the Grand Line, right? You know, the people I've talked to call that place the Pirate Graveyard."

Kestrel frowned looking up to the sky. The Grand Line excited her, and made her nervous. She knew that without a doubt that they would be there, and they'd be waiting for her. No matter what it takes - she will surpass them one day.

"Right, and that's why I need an extra strong crew!" Luffy said. "You guys mentioned some Pirate Hunter. So, what's he like, Coby?"

"Oh you mean Zoro? The last I heard is that he's being held prisoner at some Marine base."

Luffy sighed. "Oh well, weakling huh?"

"No!" Coby yelled. "You're so wrong! He's as violent as a demon and three times as horrifying! Wait...why are you asking about him anyway?..."

Kestrel groaned already knowing what he was going to say.

"I figured if he's good enough I'd ask him to join our crew!"

"Luffy!" Kestrel sighed. "When are you ever going to learn that thing are never that simple - you fucking twit!"

* * *

 **End Note:** And there you have it! Kestrel is back in business. I feel as though I should address something first, and that's the reason I made Kestrel the way I made her. I read many stories where when the female is lead, she's made to be cute, clumsy, adorable, and not very strong; always relying on someone to save her - I hate that. I like to read stories where if the character is female, she's strong, and she's not dainty - she's capable. So when I made Kestrel I wanted her to be the complete opposite of that. I'm not saying having characters like this is wrong; not at all. But the Straw Hats need a female crew member who can kick ass and hold her own, and so Kestrel was born!

I love my foul-mouthed child.

Oh, and One Piece is my favorite anime, officially. I love you Fairy Tail - but, yeah.

Also, fight scenes are hard.


	2. Roronoa Zoro: The Pirate Bounty Hunter

**Red Hawk**

 _"Life is either a daring adventure of nothing at all."_

 **Summary:** Kestrel has grown up in the shadow of her relatives and is determined to make herself a name in the world. She wants to be someone that everyone knows; someone people respect, and fear. She's aware that the journey won't be easy, especially with Luffy as her Captain, and an annoying swordsman constantly making her life hell, and one of the most dysfuctional crews she's ever come across. But Kestrel knows that one day she'll look back on these days, and have no regrets for the adventure that was on the sea isn't always grand...but she wouldn't trade it for all the treasure in the world.

 **Warning:** This story containts explict language, violence, death, gore, and mentions of sexual content. If that doesn't suite your cup of tea, then I suggest you look elsewhere.

* * *

"What a day! It's gorgeous!" Luffy yelled to the sky as he awoke from a restful sleep. A day had passed since they left Alvida's ship, and they were currently in route to their next destination: Shells Town. Luffy looked over at Coby who was guiding the boat, and Kestrel, was was kicked back with her eye shut peacefully; snoring logs as drool dribbled from her mouth.

Luffy giggled deviously and crouched down in front of her. "Hey Kess - WAKE UP!" Luffy yelled, grabbing hold of her shirt and shaking her like there was no tomorrow. "Come on! There's no time to be sleeping on an adventure!"

Kestrel's eyes snapped open at Luffy's shaking. For a minute, she didn't know where she was - or who was shaking her. Fearfully, she covered her face with her arms and began to plead for her life.

"KYAAAH! IT WASN'T ME DADAN - IT WAS ACE! PLEASE DON'T TELL GRAMPS! I DON'T WANT TO BE HIT WITH HIS FIST OF LOVE - NOT AGAIN!"

Kestrel blinked as the shaking stopped. When she seen that it wasn't Dadan, but Luffy, a sour looked cross her face as well a blush.

"Luffy! That's not funny!" she yelled as her brother rolled around the boat, laughing his head off. Scowling she crossed her arms over her chest and shimmied her shoulder around to get out some of the stiffness she was feeling. "I freaking hate mornings," she groaned and popped her back. "Luffy, we gotta get a bigger boat. My back can't take anymore of this abuse," she sighed, and looked up towards the sky. "Where the hell are we heading, anyway?"

"Shells Town," Coby answered. "As long as we can stay on this heading we should be able to reach the Marine base in no time at all!" Coby enthusiastically replied.

Kestrel groaned. Why did have to want to be a Marine of all things?

"Wow Coby! You're great out here!" Luffy grinned. "You mean we're actually going to reach the place we originally set out for?"

"Of course! It's nothing," Coby said. "I'm just using the skills that every sailor should have." Coby pushed his glasses up on his nose and looked over at Luffy who was laughing like a crazed maniac of some kind. "You know, there's nothing to really be so giggly about, because at the Marine base there holding the Great Pirate Hunter: Roronoa Zoro."

"Roronoa Zoro?" Kestrel hummed in though. "That's a name I've heard a lot. They call him a demon, and say he's skilled with a sword," Kestrel grinned, tapping her own sword. "I bet I could beat him."

Kestrel and Luffy have fought many people in their lives; most being complete pushovers, she's yet to meet someone who could match either of their strength and skills; but that's not to say their not out there - they just haven't found them yer. Perhaps this Roronoa Zoro could provide and interesting challenge? In fact, that just might be the kind of fight she's been looking for. The kind of fight that gets your heart racing, and your blood pumping.

"Are you crazy?!" Coby yelled. "This is the man who's sliced up his bounties like an animal bent on carnage! A bloodthirsty beast! He's been called nothing less then a living, breathing, demon in human form!"

Kestrel glared coldy at Coby. The pink-haired boy shrunk back and bit his tongue. "It doesn't matter," she said. "Demon or not, no one is going to stop me; bet on that."

* * *

It was around mid-afternoon when they docked ship(if you could even call it that) at Shells Town; the town where Roronoa Zoro was being held prisoner by the Marine Base. Kestrel did have to wonder how someone as famous as Zoro was able to get caught so easily by the Marines. From what she had gathered so far, he was some kind of demon that wielded a sword - a famous Pirate Bounty Hunter. But was he really all that strong if he was able to get captured by some low-level Marines, so easily? Or was it all some coy play - pretend to be captured, and then strike when their backs are turned?

"We're here!" Luffy yelled drawing Kestrel from her thoughts.

Kestrel followed Luffy into Shells Town, were many vendors had set up shop. People of all kinds went about browsing the various goods. Kestrel frowned not seeing anything too interesting or eye catching. Fruit and vegetables, and that was about it.

How very boring.

"Luffy, seriously, you're out of your mind if you think the right thing to do is to get this guy to join you!" Coby yelled. He was very adamant about not letting them recruit Zoro, for whatever reason.

"Why do you even care, kid? It's not like you're coming with us." Kestrel rolled her eyes.

"That's not..." Coby looked down at the ground. Kestrel cocked a brown but didn't say anything about it.

"I haven't made up my mind yet." Luffy said. "I gotta see if he's a good guy!"

"He's in prison because he's obviously not!"

"But how can you be sure of that?" Kestrel asked. She caught sign of a vendor selling peaches and merged herself with the crowd. Blending in, she swiped three of the sweet tasting fruit from the stand as the woman tending it was busy with another customer. She tossed one to Luffy and Coby(who was reluctant to take the stolen fruit) and continued on with what she was saying.

"Hn, it's a little too bitter - but I can't complain too much. They were free, after all," she chuckled and finished the fruit. "Eh, what the hell was I saying again? Oh yeah, the Marines. Basically, what I'm saying is that a lot of innocent people are falsely imprisoned by the Marines everyday." She said narrowing her eyes. "I don't know what kind of fairy tail you're living in, kid, but it's time to grow up."

"T-that can't be true! The Marines are sworn to protect people and uphold justice in the world!" Coby argued refusing to believe anything she had just told him.

Kestrel sighed. She didn't feel like arguing with him. Instead, she jogged to catch up with Luffy after falling behind. Luffy flipped a coin to the vendor he had bought a pear from and took a bite before asking the question that was on both his and Kestrel's mind.

"Hey, is that guy Zoro around here?"

Just hearing his name sent the villagers into a frenzied panic, and stared at the trio as if they were crazy. Kestrel frown. If just mention his name traumatized them, then he had to be pretty scary, right?

"Maybe we shouldn't mention the name Zoro here, ok?" Coby whispered. They shrugged and continued on their way.

"Let's head to the base and check it out! You want to be a Marine, right?" Luffy asked.

Coby smiled at thought. "Well of course I do! But I really don't think I'm ready just yet. From what I've heard, the man in charge of this place is called Captain Morgan."

Once again the people of Shells Towns were sent into a panic. Though, it was much worse when compared to Zoro. Kestrel folded her arms over her chest and frowned. It wasn't common for people to panic when you mentioned the Marines; not unless they weren't good people - which Kestrel was leaning towards.

There's something fishy about this place, and she is willing to bet all her beri that is has to do with the Marines.

* * *

Luffy was still laughing about how weird the people of Shells Town were; and Kestrel was lost in her thoughts. Coby also seemed to be bothered by the villagers and how they reacted to the mentioning of Captain Morgan.

"I understand that their scared of Zoro," Coby said. "But why did they flip when I mentioned the Marine Captain's name?"

"Obviously he's not a good guy." Kestrel said as if it were obvious - which it kinda was.

"I don't know...but I've got a bad feeling about this." Coby said hesitatingly. She agreed with him.

"Maybe they were all just jumping around for the fun of it." Luffy shrugged.

Kestrel laughed at Luffy. He's always been a bit naive. One of the many things she loved about his dumb ass.

"And how would that make any sense?!" Coby yelled.

"You'll come to learn that a lot of the things Luffy says don't make a lick of sense," Kestrel chuckled. "But that's what makes Luffy, well, Luffy!"

* * *

They all stood outside of the Marine based with mixed-matched emotions. Coby, was overwhelmed with happiness, and was crying his eyes out. Luffy seemed to be lost in his own mind - which is kinda scary. And then Kestrel, wanted to be as far away from the Marine Base as possible. Marines meant trouble, and she didn't feel like dealing with it.

Coby looked at the Marine base with tears in his eyes. "I-I made it... _sniff..._ this is where we part ways; Luffy, Kestrel, we didn't have long together but-"

"Hey Kess, give me a hand."

"Sure thing, Cap'n."

"Where's the foot hole?!"

Coby's jaw dropped. "Get down from there! What are you doing?! They'll see you!" He yelled.

Luffy and Kestrel had decided to climb the stone wall surrounding the Marine base. Kestrel helped Luffy up even though he didn't need it, and in return, Luffy stretched her up, where she say comfortable on the wall, gazing out into the yard for the search of Roronoa Zoro.

"So, where is this guy?" Kestrel held her hand over her eyes as she surveyed the yard.

"They wouldn't keeping him out in the open!" Coby said. "He's probably tucked in a prison cell below ground."

 _"Found him!" "There he is!"_

"What?!" Coby screamed. There was no way! Why wasn't he locked up underground!?

"Come on Kess, let's get closer!"

"Rodger that, Cap'n!"

They had a much better view of Zoro now. He was tied to a make-shift crucifix, and his head was hung low. From where she was sitting she could see that he had light green hair, and was wearing a white shirt that fit him well, as well as black pants and shoes. A green haramaki is tied around his waist, and there was a bandana tied around his head.

Luffy pointed at Zoro with a giant grin. "If we untie those ropes then he can just walk away!"

"Yeah, I guess that would work," Kestrel said. "But we'd have to be careful so we don't get caught by those damn Marines."

"Don't be such idiots you two!" Coby barked. "There's no telling what a bandit like him could do if you let him go! He might just kill all three of us!"

"Don't worry. We're strong." Luffy grinned with his eyes closed. "We can protect you."

"Hey you three..."

Everyone looked out at Zoro.

"...Your an eyesore. Get lost."

"Oi," Kestrel glared at Zoro. "The hell are you saying - we're ugly? That it, String-Bean? Don't make me come over there and kick your ass you stupid head of cabbage!"

"Trust me guys! There's no chance you'll survive with someone like him on your crew!" Coby gulped.

A sound from behind caught their attention. Kestrel looked back just in time to see a little girl pressing a ladder against the wall, and climbing it. Her hair is brown, and stuffed in pigtails, and she's wearing a purple striped dress. She had something in her hands that Kestrel couldn't see. The girl looked at Coby and Kestrel, pressing a finger against her lips. "Shoosh!"She whispered and climbed over the wall. Coby immediately started to panic, leading Kestrel to smack him over the head with the club she had stolen from Alvida that she had placed on her back, next to her sword.

" _Ow!_ What did you do that for?!"

"Felt like it." she shrugged.

The little girl bravely ran over to Zoro which had Kestrel tilting her head.

"NOO! YOU GUYS WE HAVE TO STOP HER OR SHE'LL BE KILLED EITHER BY THE MARINES OR THE DEMON HIMSELF!" Coby shouted frantically.

Kestrel sighed and hopped over the wall. She would rather take her chances with a demon and the Marines, over listening to Coby cry like a baby any longer. The little girl merely spared a glance back at Kestrel as she casually kept pace. She gave Kestrel and mean glare and approached the rumored demon. Kestrel arched a brow and shrugged her shoulders; deciding it was best to keep her distance, but her hands were pressed against her pistols - just in case.

"What do you want?" Zoro asked in a gruff voice.

Kestrel took a minute to observe Zoro. For being a demon, he was pretty easy on the eyes. If the muscles that strained under his fitted white shirt were anything to go by - he took care oh himself. His green hair actually went well with his dark skin and eyes. And his black pants fit him snugly - not that she was looking.

 _Wait._

Kestrel blinked. Was she really checking out the guy that had insulted her mere minutes ago? She stole another look at him. Yeah, yeah she was. What? The guys attractive!

The girl shuffled through the brown paper bag she was carrying, and pulled out two carefully wrapped packages.

"I thought you may be getting hungry by now, so I made you some rice balls!" She smiled and proudly presented them to him.

"You got a death wish kid? Just scram!"

"But you haven't eaten anything the whole time you've been tied up!" She unraveled the rice balls and held them out to Zoro. "Here! I've never really made them before, but I did my best so I think they'll be fine!" She smiled brightly.

Kestrel couldn't help the grin that spread over her face. Fearless and adorable; a deadly combination.

"Listen kid, I'm not hungry!" Zoro yelled. He seemed to be more annoyed then angry with her. And his eyes kept shifting around the place. Who was he looking for? "Now stop irritating me and get out of here!"

"But..."

"Do not make me kick your ass little girl!"

Kestrel could hear the sound of a gate opening followed by heavy footsteps. "What's that?" She looked to her right and noticed a group of men approaching. "Shit!" She scowled and looked for someplace to hide. Nothing. Just great. The last thing she needed was the Marines on her back.

"Now, now, no likes a bully," A blond-haired male with a busted face, and horrendous sense of fashion crewed. He spoke in a typical _'I have lots of money so therefore that makes me better then you',_ with a hint of _'spoiled brat',_ thrown into the mix.

"Roronoa Zoro, you seem to be handling this well," The man cockily said as he twisted his pink shirt collar. "Don't you agree?"

Kestrel stiffened as they got closer.

"Lookie, some tasty rice balls~" The man said.

"That's not for you!" The girl cried, dejectedly watching him stuff one into his mouth and immediately spit it back out.

"WAHH!" He screamed angrily. "Too sweet! They're packed with sugar! You're supposed to use salt you idiot, salt!"

"But I...I thought they'd taste better sweet..."

The man growled and yelled _'Give me that!'_ and snatched the other rice ball from the girls hands. He then threw it onto the ground and stomped it into a clump of mud, dirt, and grass. The girl started to cry and pleaded for the man to stop, but he refused to listen. The whole time Kestrel had her fingers wrapped around her guns. She probably worked hard on those - bastard! Kestrel's lips twisted into a snarl and her fingers dangerously danced along her pistols. Would anyone really give a damn if she blew this pricks brains out? Probably not; but the last thing she needed was for the Marines to put a bounty over her head.

 _Sorry, kid._

"B-But I worked so hard to make those..." The girl said between sobs and hiccups.

"Too bad." the pompous man cooed. "You must have not read the notice that was posted: _'_ Those who assist criminals in any way will be executed - Captain Morgan'." The man giggled seeing the littl girls fearful face. "It seems that even little brats fear my daddy~"

 _Daddy?!_ What man calls his father _'Daddy'_?!

"You," The man pointed to one of the other Marines. "Toss this kid out. Right now." when the man hesitated the spoiled blond grabbed him by the collar. "I said throw her over the wall, Soldier! Now if you won't follow my orders, I'll tell my father." He smirked at the Marines fear.

"Y-Yes Sir! I-I'll do it!"

"Like hell you will!" Kestrel snapped alerting their attention to her.

"W-Who are you?!" Helmeppo screamed.

Kestrel ignored the pompous man and grabbed onto the girls arm. "Hey, hold on tight, ok?" she looked down at the girl who nodded, slightly fearful. Kestrel barely heard the man order the Marines to capture her, when she felt Luffy grabbing hold of the back of her shirt and pulling her over the wall. Kestrel rolled so that she would take the blunt of the blow, leaving the girl unharmed.

"Where did she go?!" Helmeppo screamed.

"S-She escaped with that girl!"

Helmeppo huffed and blew a strand of hair from her face. "No matter, I'll have my daddy deal with them later."

"Damn you." Zoro muttered.

The man laughed hideously. "You're just dead set on staying alive, aren't you?" there was a snicker to his words.

"That's right," Zoro said. "And I'm going to make it through the month without any problems."

"Right. Good luck with that!" The man laughed and started to walk away.

"Only ten days left!" Zoro yelled at him.

Again, he chortled. "Oh, and you assume you'll make it to the end of those ten days?" He laughed once more and disappeared behind the fence.

* * *

"Why do I have to come with you?!"

Kestrel groaned as Luffy dragged her over the wall, again. The Marines and the weird guy had left long ago; leaving Zoro to his own. Luffy was deadest on talking to him, but Kestrel didn't know why he had to drag her along with him. Coby had stayed behind with the girl, who was safe and sound - now.

They gingerly approached Zoro who only sighed at seeing their faces.

"So I hear you're a bad guy." Luffy said as he stood before Zoro.

"You still here?" Zoro grunted.

"You're stuck out here for all the world to see - and nothing," he frowned. "Are you really all that strong?"

"Mind your own business!" Zoro yelled.

"Well, he's got a point," Kestrel said folding her arms over her chest. "How the hell did you manage to get captured by those idiots?"

Zoro growled and threw a glare her way. "What does it matter to you?! I said get lost!"

Kestrel glared back at him. Two could play the stubborn game.

Luffy adjusted his hat and took a few steps closer with a smile on his face. "If I were you I probably would have starved to death in three days."

"You would have starved within the hour!" Kestrel snorted. "I probably could have lasted at least a day or two, maybe." She though it over. Food was very important to her. She probably wouldn't even last as long as Luffy.

"I've got more spirit then you two could ever have," Zoro grinned. "Which is how I'm going to survive this ordeal. This, I swear." She cracked a smile at the determination in his voice.

"Hah! What a weirdo." Luffy laughed and waved. He seemed ready to leave when Zoro suddenly called out to him.

"Wait! Hold on. Could you...pick that up for me?" He said glancing down at the smashed rice ball.

Luffy crouched down and picked the dingy white ball of mud up. "You're going to eat this?" he was confused. "Cause it's mostly just a ball of mud."

"Shut up and give it to me, now!" Zoro barked.

Kestrel snorted. One could take that another way, Mr. Pirate Hunter. Even though it was gross to watch she still couldn't help but grin as he choked the tainted rice ball down his throat.

"You probably should have listened to him." Kestrel said though her laughter.

"It was good," He said after a minute. "Thanks for the food."

Luffy and Kestrel grinned at the swordsmen. Hell, he wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

Luffy had dragged Kestrel back to where Coby and the girl were so they could tell her what Zoro had said. They they reached the restaurant they found the little girl - named Rika - and told her everything Zoro said about her dirty rice balls; her frown transformed to a glowing smile.

"Really?!" She squeaked happily.

"Yeah," Kestrel nodded. "Every last bit of dirt and rock."

"He ate every last grain of rice there was." Luffy smiled at her.

Rika folded her hands and looked down at the ground bashfully. "That's great!" she was so happy to hear that he liked her food.

"I wonder if Zoro is as evil as everyone really thinks he is.." Coby said solemnly. It seemed his opinion of the swordsmen was beginning to drift.

"He's not!" Rika yelled in Zoro's defense. "He's good...because he got himself punished for us." Rika's smile slipped into a frown.

"You're uh, making no sense." Luffy said.

"Sorry." she apologized. "It's that dumb Helmeppo! He's the son of Captain Morgan."

Kestrel's eyes and lips twitched. "H-HELMEPPO!?" She yelled, roaring with laughter. "Who the fuck in their right mind names their kid Helmeppo!?" She would have felt pity for the poor bastard if it wasn't for that fact he was king of the douchebags - who needed a serious ass kicking.

Rika went on to tell them about how Helmeppo was causing trouble in her families restaurant, and how she tried to defend it, and how Zoro took on their punishment to keep them safe. Her story only made Kestrel hate Marines more than she already did - something she didn't think possible. Threatening a little girl and her mother was the most cowardly thing you could do.

 _Just what you'd expect from someone named Helmeppo._

"It's been three weeks since that day," Rika says sadly. "Helmeppo keeps punching and kicking him while he's tied up. He's being so unfair! I don't...I don't know how to help him!" Rika started to cry into her hand.

Kestrel jumped off the barrel she was sitting on and wrapped Rika in a one-armed hug. "Stop crying, rugrat. We'll figure something out. Right, Luffy?"

"Of course we will!" Luffy stuck his arms up with a grin.

"You gotta stay strong though, ok?" Kestrel said, ruffling her hair.

Rika looked at Kestrel with tears in her eyes and nodded. "O-Okay." Kestrel grinned. She's always had a soft spot for kids. She felt it came from looking after her stupid brother when she was younger, who probably would have died if it weren't for her - though they'd never admit it.

A crash from inside of the restaurant alerted the four of them. They all rushed inside to find Helmeppo, once again trying to stir up trouble for Rika's mother.

Helmeppo had his feet propped up on the table, and a cocky grin on his ugly busted face.

"I'm hungry! Bring us whatever you got, and keep the check for yourself hehehehe~" Helmeppo chuckled deviously. "And bring me a bottle of your finest Moonshine, or whatever crap you sell here; and put some speed to it lady! I don't have all day. Oh that's more like it~" Helmeppo purred and held out his glass as Rika's mom poured a purple wine into it.

"I'm trying to think of something interesting to do seeing as I'm bored out of my skull here," Helmeppo hummed. "I suppose I could execute Zoro~" He cackled gleefully.

 _Son of a bitch!_ Kestrel had enough. She was ready to put this fucker in his place. But before she could even reach for her sword, or comprehend what the hell she was doing; Luffy had sprinted across the room and delivered a heavy blow to Helmeppo's face, that sent him flying across the room and into the wall.

"Y-YOU JUST HIT ME!" Helmeppo cried while holding his injured nose. "I AM CAPTAIN MORGAN'S SON I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW!"

"Like I care!" Luffy yelled back.

"You'll care after he executes you for this!" Helmeppo screamed.

"Why don't you be a man and fight?!" Anger was radiating off Luffy. Kestrel hadn't seen him get this angry in a while.

"Luffy no! You can't hit him!" Coby cried and quickly restrained Luffy who was still trying to lash out at Helmeppo. "Luffy just ease off some! Why are you trying to get one the Marines bad side?!"

"This guy is scum!" Luffy said. "I made up my mind." Luffy said. "Today, Zoro joins my crew!"

Kestrel sighed. "I have a very bad feeling about this."

* * *

They once again found themselves out in the courtyard - much to Zoro and Kestrel's displeasure. She was getting tired of this repetitive song and dance. Just as she figured, as soon as Zoro seen the two of them walking towards them, he let our a frustrated growled and yelled for them to leave him the hell alone.

Kestrel could see the sweat pouring from his body, and noticed how badly his hand were shaking, and how labored his breathing was. He was suffering, but his pride wouldn't allow him to admit it.

"You two again," He sighed. "Don't you have better things to do?"

"Not at the moment." Kestrel shrugged.

"I'll untie you," Luffy said. "But only if you promise to join my crew." He said cutting straight to the point. Kestrel figured he would have _at least_ tried to sweet talk him just a little.

"What?" Zoro glared.

"I run a pirate crew and I'm looking for people to join up." Luffy said walking closer to Zoro.

"No way! I'd never stoop to joining up with criminals," Zoro scowled and looked away. "Screw that business."

Kestrel glared at Zoro. "Don't you go looking down on us, Roronoa Zoro." Kestrel scowled. Zoro glared coldly at her.

"And what's wrong with being a pirate?" Luffy demanded.

"They're despicable! Like I'd ever want to join up with one."

Luffy chuckled at him. "Give me a break. Everyone already knows you as some viscous Bounty Hunter that's always out for blood."

"People can say whatever they want about me, but I've never done a single thing in my life that I regret," he smirked and narrowed his eyes at them. "I will make it through this challenge, and after that I'll accomplish what I want."

"You're a fucking idiot." Kestrel deadpanned.

"And why is that, poult?!" Zoro snapped at her.

Kestrel blinked. Poult? That's an odd name to call someone. Why would he call her that - poult? If she remembered right, a poult was another name for a baby bird - specifically a chicken, or turkey. So it really didn't make any -

 _Wait just a god damn minute!_

" _POULT?!_ Listen here you piece of shit - LUFFY LET ME GO!" Kestrel growled at Luffy who had taken hold of her shirt, keeping her from strangling Zoro. "Damn it! He called me a fucking chicken Luffy! My name means a bird of prey - the opposite of a chicken!" Kestrel continued to ramble.

"Yeah, yeah, we can get some chicken later, Kess." Luffy said, completely missing the point. Kestrel sighed and hung her head. She knew it was pointless to argue with Luffy.

Luffy focused his attention back on Zoro who was smirking at Kestrel.

"Yeah that's great...but I've already decided that you're going to be a part of my crew!" Luffy folded his arms over his chest and grinned.

"WHAT?! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" Zoro yelled.

"I hear you're one of the best Swordsmen around." Luffy said.

"W-well yeah, I am! But that idiot Captain's son took mine away." Zoro huffed.

"I guess I'll have to go get it back for you!" Luffy laughed. "So I guess if you want your sword you're just going to have to join my crew!"

"Now you're really pissing me off!" Zoro screamed at Luffy.

Luffy ignored Zoro and ran off laughing, gleeful about getting a new member for his crew.

Kestrel sighed. _He's going the wrong way.._

Zoro sighed. "Hey genius! The base is in the other direction."

Luffy paused and turned around. He eyed the Marine base in the distance and nodded. Kestrel ducked down knowing what was going to happen. "Gum-Gum Rockets!" Luffy yelled and propelled himself towards the base.

"W-What the hell is that guy?!" Zoro yelled. A minute passed and he noticed that Kestrel hadn't left. "Hey, aren't you going to go after him?" Zoro asked.

Kestrel, still salty over being called a chicken, glared at him. "Luffy will be fine. I'm not worried," She huffed. "Besides, someone needs to stay here to protect your dumb ass." She said was readying her pistols.

"Protect me from what?" Zoro huffed, annoyed by the girls constant insults towards him.

"From the shit storm we're about to be in," she answered. "Basically, what I'm saying, String-Bean; is that all hell is about to break loose in a matter of minutes. I'll bet you all the world in the damn world that Captain Morgan has his eyes trained on us right at this very moment. I have little reason to doubt that his bratty son didn't run back home crying to him," Kestrel glanced over at the gate. "Any minute now, the Marines are going to be flooding in this place; so you better be ready." She said cocking her guns.

"I thought I would find you here!"

"Coby." Kestrel blinked. She was surprised to see that he came anywhere near this place.

Coby ran over to Zoro and started to mess with the ropes that bound him to the crucifix.

"You have to get out of here Zoro!" Coby said.

"That maniacs going to kill you for what you're doing right now!" Zoro yelled.

"I can't stand to watch the Marines behave like this anymore," Coby sighed. "A true Marine should be honorable!"

"Give me a break." Kestrel scoffed.

"Look, kid, I can't leave. I've got ten days left! And then the-"

"Well, not quite," Coby frowned. "Their going to execute you tomorrow."

" _Their what?!"_ Zoro growled.

"Helmeppo never intended to honor you agreement. He planned on killing you from the start which made Luffy really angry. So he just knocked him out! And Kestrel was so mad she was ready to jump him!"

"He did?" Zoro muttered. "Wait, really?" He looked at Kestrel who had a tinge of pink on her cheeks.

"I wasn't doing it for your sake, asshole! His pompous attitude really pisses me off!" Kestrel hissed in reply.

"Now that the Marines are mad, they're dead set on catching Luffy. And once they see Kestrel defending you, they'll be after her too. Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to become a pirate though, but I hope you'll help them. You have a lot of strength you can offer.

Kestrel scoffed. "I perfectly capable of protecting myself."

"Luffy and Kestrel are the only people here who can actually save you from execution." Coby said as he struggled with the ropes. "And of course, you're the only one who can save them from a very similar fate."

"Wow. Thanks for putting your faith in us, kid. I appreciate it." She said sarcastically. "Seriously, you make us sound pathetic. It's annoying - so knock it off."

Kestrel pulled the sword from her back and held it towards the sky. It was nothing fancy; just a plain long sword, with a good durability to it. Though, she'd much rather have something nicer down the line. But for now, it was better than nothing.

Zoro eyed the sword and then Kestrel. "You know how to sword fight?" He asked, doubt obvious within his voice.

"It runs in my blood," Kestrel answered with a smirk. "I'm pretty decent, but I'm no expert."

 _"End of the line!"_ Came a gruff voice.

Kestrel set her sights on a yard full of Marines, and a blond haired man with an axe for a hand that towered over all of them. The Marines, and Captain Morgan himself. Kestrel cocked her hip out and rested her sword against he shoulder.

It seemed like the fun was about to begin.

"For the crime of treason against me I sentence you three to die where you stand!" Morgan ordered.

The Marines raised their guns and Kestrel moved to stand in front of Zoro and Coby with her sword aimed at them.

"You've been pulling some interesting move around here," Morgan chided. "What is this? Some kind of poorly executed coo you planned with the Straw Hat?!"

"I've always fought alone like a real man does," Zoro barked back at Morgan. "Not like a coward who hides behind his wall of expendable cronies."

"Oh, you got some bite in ya, String-Bean." Kestrel smirked.

"Roronoa Zoro, don't you dare underestimate me," Morgan smirked. "You may be a strong fighter, but under my order you're just a rat we throw out with the trash. Take aim!" Morgan raised his axe.

Kestrel stiffened and braced herself for the battle to be had. "Stay back. I won't allow either of you idiots to die, got that?" But it seemed that she wouldn't be drawing any blood just yet.

 _"Fire!"_

 _"Gum-Gum Rockets!"_

Before she could even react, Luffy was in front of her with his arms spread out like an eagle. The bullets from the Marines guns bounced off of Luffy and ricocheted back to them, taking a few of them out in the process. Kestrel sighed and lowered her sword.

"Great timing as always, Cap'n." She grinned and and tucked her fist against her hip.

"Hahahahaha! That won't work on me! Told you I was strong!" Luffy cheered.

"W-What the?! Who the hell are you?!" Zoro's eyes were wide and his mouth was agape. What he just witnessed wasn't humanely possible!

"My names Monkey D. Luffy! And I'm going to be King of The Pirates!" Luffy declared with his thumb up and a grin on his face.

"You're going to be King of The Pirates?" Zoro scoffed. "Right, you must be completely out of your rubbery mind. Do you have any idea what that means?!"

"King of The Pirates means King of The Pirates," Luffy simply answered. "How can it mean anything other than that?"

"Yeah when he first told me it was shocking - but he's completely serious!" Coby said with a grin of his own. "That's how he is, I suppose; because he actually seems to have every intention of becoming King of The Pirates and obtaining the worlds ultimate treasure: The One Piece!"

Luffy chuckled in response. "Here's what I promised you," Luffy held out three swords to Zoro. Two were black with red diamonds on the handle, and the other was white with gold diamonds.

"There's three. I couldn't tell which was yours so I just took all of them!"

"All of them belong to me," Zoro answered. "I use Santoryu: The Three Sword Style."

Kestrel's eyes widened a fraction. He can use three swords at the same time? But how?! He only has two hands!

"Take them already!" Luffy shoved the swords forward. "Just know that if you fight with us now you'll be a Government defying villain, so it's either that, or you're left our here for the Marines and killed execution style."

Zoro gave him a lowered smirk. "What are you, the son of the Devil? It doesn't matter. Because if I don't choose your side I'll just end up dead on these sticks. So let's do it."

A chill of excitement ran down Kestrel's spine. "It's been a while since we've been in a good fight, aye Luffy?" She refused to count Alvida's fight as good since it was over just as it began.

"You bet!" Luffy grinned and pumped the swords excitedly above his head. "Haha! Zoro's finally going to join my crew! This is the best thing ever!"

"Would you quit celebrating already and get these ropes off me!"

* * *

The Marines were still confused as to what had just happened. They had never seen anyone like Luffy before!

"W-What is he?"

"Bullets just bounced right off him!"

Morgan glared at Luffy and Co. "Straw Hats no ordinary human like the rest of us. He must have eaten one of those Devil Fruits that we've heard all those rumors about.

"Devil Fruit?!"

"The hidden treasure of the sea!"

"The Devil Fruits," Morgan grunted out. "Those who eat them are said to gain extraordinary, other wordily abilities. The power to breathe fire, the power to cause tsunamis! Rumors persist that there are many types of this fruit; but next to nothing is known about them. It is said that the secrets to them lie somewhere within the Grand Line, and there's no question about it: The Straw Hat has just showed us his Devil power!"

* * *

"Come on, hurry!" Coby urged Luffy. They were still struggling to get the rope off of Zoro.

"They. Got. These. Things. On. Here. Tight." Luffy puffed out his cheeks and tried to pull the rope off, but he only succeeded in making them tighter.

"Come on, come on! Quit screwing around!" Zoro yelled.

"It doesn't matter what abilities they have," Morgan growled. "All who oppose me are executed! If the guns won't work _WE CHOOOOOP!_ "

"That's funny! The knots got tighter instead of looser." Luffy said scratching his head.

"Give me one of my damn swords _NOW!"_

"GAAAH! LUFFY! KESTREL! LOOK!" Coby shouted.

The Marines were quickly approached them. With no time to waste Kestrel dashed towards them, swinging her sword, and weaving in and out of the mob of Marines with a trail of blood flying behind her. At once point, she had put her sword away and switched her her pistols; she fired them off into the crowd, rolling to the side as a Marine slashed at her with his sword. Kestrel elbowed the Marine in the face, and then kicked him in the jaw. She jumped back as more charged towards them.

It was like they had an endless supply of the fuckers!

"Damn it!" Kestrel growled and tucked her pistols away. "Looks like I gotta bust some ass the old fashioned way!" Kestrel moved to attack but was shocked when she instead saw Zoro restraining the Marines with all three of his swords. He held the black ones in an "X" pattern, and the white one was turned sideways in his mouth.

 _He holds the last sword in his mouth?! That's..._

"Absolutely disrespectful!" Kestrel yelled at Zoro. "What the hell gives you the right to shove perfectly good weapons in your mouth?! Do you not realize how unsanitary that is! Think of all the people who have had their hands on that! And don't even get me started on the damage you're causing to you teeth and the swords its self!"

Sweat-drops were passed all around.

Zoro ignored Kestrel and instead addressed Luffy. "Today I officially become a criminal having fought the Marines. So I'll become a pirate, that I can promise you," Zoro's voice was muffled by the violated sword sticking out of his mouth. "But I want you to know one thing: While I'm with you the only thing I dedicate myself to is fulfilling my ambition."

"Which is?" Luffy and Kestrel both questioned.

"To be nothing less then the Worlds Greatest Swordsmen. If somewhere along the line I have to give that up, then I want you to take responsibility. After which you get to apologize to me."

"The Worlds Greatest Swordsmen! Sounds pretty good to me! I've got a Weapon Smith and now I've got a Swordsman! The King of The Pirates wouldn't have anything less then the best on his crew!"

Kestrel snorted. _The Worlds Greatest Swordsman? Yeah, good luck with that pal. You're going to have a challenge on your hands._

"Big talker." Zoro smirked. "From this day on it doesn't matter if I'm a criminal or not. I will spread the name Zoro throughout the world!"

"What are you standing there frozen for?!" Captain Morgan bellowed. "I want you to kill all four of them now!"

"You might want to duck!" Luffy said in a sing-song tune. Kestrel immediately hit the ground and threw her hands over her head.

This is getting seriously old.

"Gum-Gum Whip!" Luffy yelled - throwing his leg out in a circle and taking out the Marines who had been creeping up on them.

"Yes! You knocked them all down!" Coby cheered.

"You wanna tell me what you are?" Zoro stood up and grunted.

"I'm just a guy who ate the Gum-Gum Fruit!" Luffy wiggled his foot and gave Zoro his trademark grin.

"What's the Gum-Gum Fruit?" Zoro asked.

"He's basically a rubber boy." Kestrel shrugged.

"A rubber person?"

"It looks like he does have the Devil Fruit powers." Morgan whispered in utter disbelief.

"Captain we don't stand a chance against them!"

"Yeah! Did you see that? Look at them! Their insane!"

"We couldn't even take on Zoro by himself!"

"And did you see how fast that girl is with her pistols?! She'd obliterate us before we even get anywhere near her!"

Morgan shook with anger at how pathetic his Marines were being. "This is a direct order...every Marine that just sputtered weakness pull your gun out and shoot yourselves! I can't do _anything_ with weak soldiers!" he growled and lifted his axe hand.

The majority of the Marines seemed shocked, while the other appeared to be angry.

"What babies," Zoro snorted and raised his sword. "This will be easy."

"Luffy! Kestrel! Bring those Marines crumbling to their knees!"

Luffy zipped straight past the Marines and headed directly for Captain Morgan, while Kestrel weaved in and out of the massive mob of Marines; slicing and hacking away with her daggers, leaving a trail of blood behind her.

"Take his ass down, Luffy!" Kestrel yelled. She wiped the blood from her daggers onto her pants, and glared coldly at the fearful Marines. 'Make one move towards him, and I'll kill every last one of you."

 _"Y-Yes Ma'am!"_

Kestrel ignored the heated battle behind her and focused solely on the Marines in front of her. If one of them so much as moved a muscle she would slit their throat. Maybe it was being cruel; but she wouldn't give them any chance to hurt Luffy. Kestrel's eyes never left them until she heard the obnoxious voice that belonged to Helmeppo.

"Straw Hat! Stop right there!" Helmeppo screamed but Luffy ignored him. "Look what I've got!"

"Are ya stupid or something?! I said stop! If you would pay attention to me I have a hostage here you might want to look at!"

It only took one word from Zoro to get Luffy's attention. A short _"Hey"._

"If you value your squaty little friends life you won't move a muscle!" Helmeppo ordered them. His knees were shaking and he could barely keep the gun still. "I'm serious! One move and I'll shoot him, I swear!" Coby was on the verge of tears and he was shaking even more then Helmeppo was.

Luffy grinned at them. But that grin set something off in Coby. He thought back to Alvida's ship and remembered Luffy's words to him.

"Luffy! Kestrel! Listen! Don't let anything that happens to me stop you no matter what - even if I die!"

Kestrel laughed. "Your balls just keep getting bigger and bigger, kid!"

"Of course, you got it!" Luffy flexed his muscles. "You hear that you big idiot? Coby is ready to die by your hand."

"Don't you move! I said don't move or I'll shoot; I swear it!"

"LUFFY!" Coby screamed. Captain Morgan had regained consciousness and had crept up behind Luffy.

"DADDY HURRY UP AND KILL HIM ALREADY!"

"Hey," Kestrel looked over her shoulder at Zoro. "Watch Luffy. I'll handle daddies boy."

Kestrel reached for her sword, but instead decided to use the club that she had stolen from Alvida. Helmeppo was so busy watching his father, that he didn't even notice Kestrel running up to him.

"You better learn to use that thing before you go around making threats!"

Kestrel swung the heavy weapon into Helmeppo's face. The sickening crunch of his nose was like music to her ears. Coby and Helmeppo both screamed. Helmeppo, because his nose was broken, and Coby because the blood had squirted all over his face. Kestrel rolled her eyes. It was just a broken nose; it would heal. She wanted to do so much more to him; but she wasn't that cruel of a person, not yet, at least.

Kestrel smirked, and leaned her club against her shoulder. With Helmeppo dealt with she turned back around and found the Marines celebrating the defeat of their Captain. Kestrel also noticed that Luffy was fine and dandy, meaning Zoro must have done well protecting him. She supposed she could forgive him for calling her a chicken... _for now_.

"That's weird. It looks like their all happy that their Captain was beaten." Luffy said.

"They must have been afraid of him for a long time before we showed up!" Coby said with a grinning face.

It was then that Zoro collapsed onto to the ground with a strained groan. Kestrel walked over to him and cocked her hip out.

"Down for the count already, String-Bean?"

"Stop calling me that." he groaned. "And I'm just...hungry..." he wheezed.

Luffy and Kestrel shared a big grin.

* * *

"Phew! Haha, I am stuffed! Having not eaten for three weeks I was ready to gnaw through my bootstraps!"

Zoro rubbed his full belly making Kestrel roll her eyes. "Light weight." She chided him.

"I can't believe you're finished, light weight." Luffy said, his mouth full of food. He and Kestrel alone could eat all the food in the restaurant and still be hungry! It was one of the many things they have in common.

"How the hell can the two of you have a bigger appetite then the guy who hasn't eaten in weeks?" Zoro pointed down at his empty plate with a glare.

"It just tastes too good I guess. Right, Kessie?"

Kestrel nearly choked on her food as Luffy called her by the horrendous nickname that had been given to her many years ago. Only one other person in the world called her that; and it annoyed her when he did it too.

"Don't ever call me that again, Idiot!" Kestrel growled and stuck her fork in Luffy's hand when he trie to steal food from her plate. "Kess is fine, but if you call me Kessie ever again I'll fucking castrate you - and don't touch my food!"

Luffy pouted at Kestrel and withdrew his hand. "You're no fun." He pouted cutely.

"Thanks for fixing this for us." Coby thanked Rika's mother - Ririka.

"My pleasure!" Ririkia smiled gently. "After all, you guys did save the town."

"You're the most amazing people I've ever met!" Rika praised them. Kestrel grinned and ruffled her hair.

"Yeah we are; I know!" Luffy said. "But I'll be even more amazing when I'm King of The Pirates and have the One Piece! Oh, and the best crew on the seas!"

Zoro smirked hearing this. "So, how many others have you gathered for you crew besides me and the poult?"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT YOU FUCKER!"

"You told me you were in the middle of gathering a crew for your ship. And if you're going to be King of The Pirates I gotta assume you already have some waiting in the whims." Zoro said returning to his and Luffy's earlier conversation.

"Nope. Just you and Kestrel."

Zoro's eyes bugged out. "Just...?" He pointed at Luffy, himself, and then Kestrel.

"Yup! It's just us."

"So you, I, and the poult are what amounts to an entire pirate crew?" Zoro asked in disbelief. Kestrel came close to stabbing him like she did Luffy.

"What's wrong with that? We're a couple of strong guys. And Kess is strong too!"

"Okay, but please tell me you have a ship."

Kestrel giggled and bit into a piece of meat on her plate. Zoro's face when he saw their little sailboat was priceless! And it only got better when a little dog decided to take a piss on it.

"You're kidding..." Zoro mumbled.

"Nope! But we'll have an enormous one before long! Just you wait and see!"

"And how's that?" Zoro laughed.

"With a great big pirate flag on top!"

Kestrel was fearful of whatever fantasy was going on in Luffy's head at that moment.

"I can't wait!"

"I think Luffy was born without that part of the brain that allows the rest of us to plan out what we have to do!" Coby said jokingly.

"Well, you might no be wrong about that." Kestrel gave it some serious thought for a moment.

"I can't believe I let myself get suckered into having him as my Captain."

Kestrel snorted. "You'll grow used to it, String-Bean." Zoro glared coldly at her.

"Luffy, where are you and your crew planning on traveling when you leave here?" Rika asked the future King of Pirates.

"You mean it's not obvious?" Luffy asked. "We're headed straight for the Grand Line!"

Kestrel stiffened a bit. She knew it was their destination, but even so; it made her shiver to think of what was waiting there for her.

"No! Have you completely lost your mind?!" Coby yelled. "You have three crew members! There's no way you're equipped to handle the Grand Line, Luffy!"

"I've heard about it, but I never knew it was such an awful place." Rika said.

"I'm sure by now that you know this world has two oceans," Coby frowned. "There's an enormous land mass that cuts across both of them: this is called the Red Line. Legend tells of a town that sits dead center on the Red Line. The Grand Line is said to cut through this town as a right angle, and stretch all the way around the rest of the world!"

Coby continued his story.

"The story goes on to say that Gold Rodger, the King of The Pirates, had once attained everything this world had to offer and before he died, he said he left the great One Piece treasure at this location. Ever since then, pirates have set sail for the Grand Line. Today the place is nothing but a battlefield and some even call it The Pirate Graveyard."

Kestrel tuned out of the story having heard all of it before. She knew the Grand Line was dangerous; but it was a risk she was willing to take. She knew that the Grand Line is where she wound find them - where she would find him. And when she found hm, there would be hell to pay.

Kestrel groaned as a group of Marines stormed inside the restrauraunt. "I'll meet you guys back at the boat, Luffy." She said. "I've had enough with the Marines today."

Kestrel left some beri on the table and left the restaurant, throwing glares at any Marine who dared stand in her way. Lucky for her, they were the Marines they faced earlier, and still bore the scars from her knives. She grinned and headed down to the docks where she loaded her belongings into the boat and waited for Luffy and Zoro.

Kestrel reclined back in the boat and stared up at the big, blue sky. "One step closer," she told herself. "Wait me for pops, because when I find you..."

 _I'm going to kick your ass._

* * *

 **End Note: The good thing about having the first few chapters of the previous story done, is that I don't have to go back and watch the episode again and again. I can just tweak them from before, to make them fit the new story.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoyed!**

 **Don't you just love Kestrel? :D**


	3. The Circus Comes to Town!

**Red Hawk**

 _"Life is either a daring adventure of nothing at all."_

 **Summary:** Kestrel has grown up in the shadow of her relatives and is determined to make herself a name in the world. She wants to be someone that everyone knows; someone people respect, and fear. She's aware that the journey won't be easy, especially with Luffy as her Captain, and an annoying swordsman constantly making her life hell, and one of the most dysfunctional crews she's ever come across. But Kestrel knows that one day she'll look back on these days, and have no regrets for the adventure that was on the sea isn't always grand...but she wouldn't trade it for all the treasure in the world.

 **Warning:** This story contains explicit language, violence, death, gore, and mentions of sexual content. If that doesn't suite your cup of tea, then I suggest you look elsewhere.

* * *

 _"So...hungry..."_

 _"When the hell are we going to reach land, anyway?"_

Kestrel groaned and threw head back against the boat. "Gods above, can you idiots complain a little more? You haven't shut up all morning and frankly - I'm sick of hearing the two of you."

"Funny coming from you, poult," Zoro glared at her. "You can always swim."

"Fuck you, String-Bean!" Kestrel glared back. "What the hell gives you the right to tell me to leave?! I was here before you, and Luffy's my brother! I have more of a right to be here than you do, so fuck off!"

Zoro blinked. "You two are related?" He looked at Kestrel and then Luffy. "I don't see it.

Kestrel scowled. "No one asked you, prick."

Kestrel sighed and folded her arms over her chest, gazing up at blue sky. She had no idea what time it was, or where they ever were. It was one of the many reasons they needed to find a navigator, and soon.

"How have you two made it this far without any navigational skills?" Zoro asked, pulling Kestrel from her thoughts.

"I dunno." Luffy shrugged. "We just drift around. What about you, Zoro? Aren't you some kind of famous bounty hunter who sailed the seas?"

"I don't have any recollection of ever calling myself a bounty hunter," Zoro said. "I set out on the open sea in search of just one man, and then I couldn't get back to my village. By the point I had to go after pirate ships just to make a living."

"Oh, I get it. You're lost then." Luffy deadpanned.

Kestrel sighed and grabbed hold of her belongings as the swordsman lunged angrily at Luffy. Their fighting shook the boat, and nearly sent the two of them flying overboard; luckily, that hadn't happened. They were all safe, well, all except for Luffy's hat.

"Oh no!" Luffy yelled, watching his hat drift along the sail of the boat.

Kestrel frowned. She knew how important Luffy's hat is to him, and the promise and memories it carried; memories that couldn't be shared, as the two had varying opinions of the man it belonged to. To one, he was the greatest man that ever lived, and to the other - he's but a mere stepping stone, on a path to greatness. Subconsciously, Kestrel gripped the brass compass that she wore as a necklace, and gently squeezed it. She didn't know why, but whenever she thought of that man it brought her comfort.

After a moments struggle, Luffy was able to get his hat back. He now sat on the floor of the boat in silence with his stare fixated on nothing; it was strange to Kestrel. Luffy is normal a very open, and bubbly guy; silence didn't do well for him. It meant he was either concocting something that would get them into trouble, or something was troubling him. Neither were good.

"Luffy, you ok? It scares me when you're quiet." Kestrel frowned.

"I thought was was important?" Zoro asked. "You're going to drop it again if you keep zoning out."

"It is, thanks." Luffy smiled.

"Man, I am so hungry. It's killing me!" Zoro threw his head back and groaned.

Kestrel rolled her eyes. "Quit your bitching, String-Bean."

Zoro glared at her. "You better watch your mouth, poult; before I toss your ass overboard!"

 _"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?!"_

 _"YOU HEARD ME!"_

"Hey look, a bird!"

Zoro and Kestrel looked back at Luffy with irritation clearly written on their faces. Kestrel had her gun pointed at Zoro's head, and Zoro had his sword pressed to her throat, both ready to kill each other without hesitation.

 _"What about it?!"_ They both spat.

"Let's eat it!" Luffy said with his signature grin.

"How the hell are we supposed to catch it, Cap'n?" Kestrel asked with more bite than usual. Zoro was really starting to piss her off.

"Leave that to me!" Luffy said standing up.

She had an idea of how Luffy planned to catch the damn bird, and it left her with a bad feeling. She has a lot of these feelings when it comes to Luffy. Kestrel sighed. It would be easy to use one of her guns to shoot the bird down, but she doubted Luffy would have even listened to her, and even if he did get the bird, they have no way to cook it; unless Luffy planned to eat it raw, which she wouldn't put past him.

"Gum Gum Rocket!"

Kestrel's eye twitched as the scene played before her: Luffy had launched himself into the air, and successfully grabbed hold of the bird; only to be taken into its mouth, and carried away. Getting kidnapped by a bird is something only Luffy and Luffy alone could manage to do.

"Guaaah! Zoro! Kestrel! Help meeeeeeee!"

"You moron - what the hell is going on now?!" Zoro yelled as he grabbed the paddles and started to paddle like a mad man.

"Row faster, damn it! He's getting too far away!" Zoro growled at her.

"Hey you there! Please, stop! Man overboard!"

Kestrel glanced over the boat and spotted a man in a hat who was flailing him arms around. He was accompanied by an orange haired fellow with big lips, and a dark-skinned man.

"Looks like ship wreckers," She said, slipping her pistol from its holster. "You gonna let them on?"

"What else am I supposed to do? Leave them out there?" Zoro grunted. "I can't stop. You're just going to have to jump in!" Zoro yelled to the three men.

Kestrell scooted closer to Zoro as the three men climbed on board, and brought her knees up to her chest and hid her pistols between her legs; she wasn't a very trusting person, and these three screamed suspicion.

"I'm actually impressed you made it on board." Zoro smirked and continued to row. Kestrel wondered if he shared the same suspicions.

"Are you trying to kill us?!" They all yelled.

"Wow, you think you'd be more grateful." She glared coldly at them.

The one in the hat drew his sword and pointed it at Zoro with a smirk. "Stop the boat now," he ordered. "The three of us are members of Buggy the Clowns Pirate Crew, and this boat is ours now."

"We'll be happy to keep the the girl, though." The dark-skinned one grinned.

"You hear that Srting-Bean? They want to take our boat." Kestrel chuckled darkly.

"That so?" Zoro said as he stopped rowing. The men narrowed their eyes as Zoro stood up and drew his own swords, and pointed them at the orange-haired man and big-lipped fellow. "So you want to have a sword fight, do you?" Zoro said, dark shadows looming over his eyes.

Kestrel chuckled as the men shook. "You might want to listen. You happen to be staring at Roronoa Zoro; pirate bounty hunter extraordinaire," She laughed as their eyes widened. "And you," Kestrel drew her pistol from between her legs and pointed it at the dark-skinned man who had been sneaking up on her. "Try anything, and you die." She warned, pressing the pistol between his eyes.

Zoro and Kestrel smirked at the men dropped to their knees and begged for forgiveness.

* * *

"Ehehehe. I'm sorry! We had no idea that you were the famous Pirate Hunter Zoro. Please forgive us!"

"Shut up and keep rowing," Kestrel said. Her arms were folded over her chest and she had a firm glare fixated on them, and her pistol in my lap. She doubted they would try anything again - but one can never be too cautious when dealing with pirates.

"Thanks to you three idiots we lost sight of our friend," Zoro glared. "So just keep paddling."

 _"Yes Sir/Ma'am!"_

"Knowing Luffy, he'll probably pull off something once he hits land." Zoro sighed.

"If he wasn't swallowed and digested yet." Kestrel grinned. "Oh lighten up, Srting-Bean. It was only a joke," She scoffed at the glare he was giving her. "Luffy's my brother so I can say things like that," Kess sighed and slif her pistol back into its holster. "You three! Pick up the pace. The Cap'n is in need of rescuing - best not keep him waiting."

"We're going as fast as we can, lady!" Big lips yelled.

"Are you getting smart with me?!" She reached for her pistol.

 _"N-No! Not at all, M-Miss!"_

"Then get paddling!"

"Y-yes Ma'am!"

Zoro snorted and turned his head to the sky. She was an interesting one, he'd give her that but only that. He still didn't trust her. There was something about her that made him uneasy - but he didn't know what. She looked familiar somehow, like he had somewhere seen her before. But he'd remember someone like her. Someone like her isn't easy to forget.

 _"Faster damn it!"_

Oh yeah. He'd definitely remember her.

* * *

The Buggy Pirates heads were hung low. Zoro and Kestrel had confiscated their weapons, and to add insult to injury, Kestrel had taken the liberty of tying them up with rope and making them lead her and Zoro through Orange Town like dogs attached to a leash. They had rudely accused Kestrel of enjoying the sick form of punishment and well, she couldn't say they were wrong.

"Lady this is degrading!" The one in the hat groaned. "You you didn't have to tie us up. There's not much we can do without our weapons." He grumbled like a little kid who got their toy taken away from them.

Kestrel grinned and tugged her ropes tighter. "Oh, I know," She said. "But, this a lot more fun," Kestrel turned to Zoro with a sly smirk on her tanned face. "Don't you think, String-Bean?"

Zoro gave her a quick sideways glance and scoffed. "You're one sick chick, you know that?"

Kestrel rolled her eyes. It wasn't like she had stripped them of their clothes, or forced them to walk on all fours, even though _it had_ crossed her mind.

"So, tell me what's so scary about this guy again?" Kestrel asked the dark-skinned one. "What was his name? Rugby, or Tugby?"

"You've never heard of Buggy the Clown?!" The leader of their little group yelled. _If I knew would I be asking?_ "He's the ruthless leader of our pirate ship, and he's eaten one of the Devil Fruits! But above everything else; he is one truly terrifying man."

Kestrel scoffed at them. "Like I'm scared of someone called 'Buggy the Clown'. Give me a break," She rolled her eyes. "And having Devil Fruit powers doesn't mean jack. It doesn't make him invincible. I'll prove that to you when I kick his ass!"

"You gotta a death wish?!" Carrot Top gasped. "There's no way you can beat Buggy!"

Kestrel snorted. "Well then, challenge fucking accepted." she declared with a very cocky grin.

That clown wouldn't know what to think when she was through with him.

* * *

As the group continued their walk throughout Orange Town, they were suddenly halted when the ground began to shake and a big _BOOM_ vibrated through the air and rattled the ground they were standing on. Kestrel struggled to regain her balance while looking the direction the explosion had come from, only to be met by crimson flames. She stared at the scene with wide eyes. Rows and rows of houses has been demolished within seconds! And the smell of smoke lingered heavily in the air.

What the hell could have possibly caused so much destruction?!

"That was one heck of an explosion." Zoro said, eyeing the burning fire.

"It looked like it was one of the Captain's beloved Buggy Balls." The dark-skinned one said, shaking at the mere sight of the explosion.

"Buggy Balls?" Zoro smirked.

Kestrel would have laughed at the choice of name; but she was too busy fighting the knot in her throat down. Luffy. Kestrel growled and took off running with clenched fist, leaving Zoro to yell and give chase after her.

Luffy may be able to endure a lot of things...but an explosion that big would surely kill him!

And Kestrel's not going to stand by and let that happen.

* * *

Where the hell are you?! Kestrel hopped from rooftop to rooftop in search of her problematic brother. Really, all she needed to do was follow the trail of destruction from the explosion. She had no doubt in her that Luffy was involved in some kind of way. Danger clings to Luffy like a magnet. And it always leads to predicaments like the one they are in right now.

Kestrel sighed and stopped to take a look around and figure out where the hell she was. As she was looking around she noticed a rooftop that had been turned into a carnival of sorts. It even had a circus tent, and a bunch of people dressed up in some variation of a clown costume.

Kestrel sweat dropped. Clown pirates? How lame. Squinting her eyes she noticed something that looked like a canon pointed at a cage, and there was someone inside of it but she couldn't quite see. Kestrel fingered the pouches of her belt and pulled out a miniature brass telescope. Lifting it to her eye she zoomed in on the figure. She wasn't even all that surprised to find that it was Luffy locked away in the cage. What did surprise her was who was at the end of the canon, the one pointed straight at Luffy.

Kestrel stared at the pretty red-headed girl who was holding a match dangerously close to the fuse of the canon.

"Who the hell is she?" Kestrel squinted. "She doesn't look like she's part of Buggy's crew. In fact, she doesn't look like much of a pirate at all."

The Buggy Pirates were cheering for the girl to light the cannon. But she didn't budge. She was trembling, lost in thought, knowing damn well that she couldn't do it. And the whole time Luffy just sat there with a blank expression on his face. Kestrel knew Luffy wasn't afraid to die, and that if it came to it he would look death in the eye and smile; but that didn't do anything to settle the uneasy feeling stirring inside of Kestrel. Luffy may no be afraid to die; but Kestrel wasn't going to let him die.

The red-head shakily brought her hand to the match causing Kestrel to draw her pistols from her thighs.

"Don't do it Little Red, 'less you want a face full of lead..."

One of the Buggy Pirates had grown bored of waiting and snatched the matches from the girls shaking hand. He eagerly swiped the match, and grinned as it burst into flame. Kestrel's eyes narrowed as the flames drew near the fuse. She aimed her pistol at him and prepared to fire. Even though her heart was beating wildly; her mind was clear. She locked onto her targer. One shot through the head - and he would be dead before he knew what hit him.

However before Kestrel was even given the chance to shoot the girl had pulled out a bo-staff and whacked the pirate on the head knocking him unconscious. Kestrel lowered her gun and quirked a brow.

She hadn't been expecting this turn of events.

A man with blue hair, a big red nose, and face paint angrily rose out of the chair he was sitting on, and demanded some kind of explanation from the girl. Kestrel figured that he must be the leader of the Pirates: Buggy the Clown. She still though the name Buggy the Clown sounded incredibly stupid - almost as stupid as the crossbones painted on his face. But, she also couldn't shake the feeling off as if she had heard his name before.

Kestrel couldn't hear much of what they were saying, but judging from the way the girl held her bo-staff defensively, and how the pirates were beginning to surround her; shit was about to go down. Kestrel drew her pistols and held them steady.

 _I've for you back, Red._

"WAAAAH! NAMI! THE FUSE!"

Kestrel's eye flickered away from the girl - Nami - and to the fuse that was close to being set off. Wait. When the hell had that happened?! Kestrel growled. She wouldn't make it there in time, damn it! The Buggy Pirates were advancing on Nami, and Kestrel knew that she wouldn't be able to take them all on by herself - not with a bo-staff.

Kestrel sighed and drew a deep breath. "HEY! RED!" Kestrel yelled from across the roof. "PUT THAT FUSE OUT! I'LL COVER YOU!"

The girl looked back at Kestrel in shock, but the seriousness of her face had the red-head nodding and running to put out the fuse. The pirates immediately gave chase and Kestrel took aim with her pistols

Her first target was a large man with frizzly green hair and overdone face paint. He was the slowest and would be the easiest to take out. Kestrel closed her left eye and focused on her target. Just as he was closing in one Nami and was close to grabbing her; Kestrel let her bullets go, watching them dance and twirl through the air, and tearing straight through the large mans leg. The pirate let out a blood piercing cry and fell to the ground as the blood poured from his wound. Many of his comrades ran to check up on him and were met with a storm of bullets.

"Stupid clowns. Don't you know that the falcon is the perfect hunter?" Kestrel said with a smirk.

"Who is doing that?!" Buggy yelled. He looked around for the perpetrator and growled when he seen Kestrel with her gun drawn. "Who the hell the hell are you, a friend of the Straw Hat?!"

Kestrel ignored the loud man and continued to fire off her guns as she took out many more pirates. By the time she was finished half of his crew was lying on the ground, nursing their bleeding wounds.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH!" Buggy angrily roared and pointed his gloved hand at Kestrel. Was that supposed to scare her? Kestrel narrowed her eyes and prepared herself for whatever twisted thought the clown had in mind. Fortunately, luck seemed to be on her side. Buggy's attention had been diverted from Kestrel to Nami, who had managed to put of the flame using only her bare hands. Kestrel winced - that had to hurt.

Three more pirates tried to get the jump on Nami but were easily taken out by Zoro.

"How the hell did he get over there?!" Kestrel scoffed.

Kestrel scowled. She looked for a path to cross over and noticed a group of buildings that were close enough together to allow her to jump over. She quickly made her way over to where Zoro and others were, and manged to knock back the pirates that Zoro was struggling to keep away.

"Now, now, it's not very nice to gang up on a little'ol lady, naughty boys." Kestrel winked at the Buggy pirates.

"Zoro! Kestrel!" Luffy cheered seeing his friends.

Kestrel whirled around and pointed her finger at him. "Luffy! How the fuck do these things keep happening to you?!" Kestrel barked. Luffy shrugged causing the rehead to sigh.

"You hurt?" Zoro cast a glance back at Nami who was paralyzed with fear. "I said, are you hurt?" He repeated.

"N-No I'm fine, I think." Nami shakily replied back.

"Phew! What a relief. I'm glad you found us, now hurry up and come get me out of here!" Luffy yelled to his crew. Kestrel rolled her eyes.

A please or thank you would be nice.

Zoro glared at their Captain. "How do you keep getting yourself into these situations? First, a bird flies off with you, and now we find you trapped in a cage!"

Luffy grinned as if he found the situation hilarious - which he probably did. "It's an interesting story, actually!"

"We'll take your word for it, Cap'n." Kestrel sighed though she couldn't help smile knowing Luffy was still in one piece.

The Buggy Pirates gasped and backed away fearfully from Zoro. They were all whispering about him and going on and on about _"Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro!"_.

"So you're Zoro?" Buggy smirked with his arms folded over his chest. "If you're here for my head, then you've got quite the struggle for it." Buggy said. He seemed to be confident that he, and his crew couldn't be defeated.

"No, not interested." Zoro closed his eyes as he spoke. "I gave up pirate hunting. I'm here for my friend."

Kestrel cocked a hand on her hip and smirked at Buggy. "You're a little over confident for a guy named 'Buffy the Clown', don't ya think?"

Buggy scowled at Kestrel. "No one asked you, girl!" He took a moment to observe Kestrel. That red hair...and the gold eyes...they reminded him of someone, who; he couldn't remember. "Girl, you seem familiar." Kestrel stiffened. "Have we met before?"

Kestrel's eyes widened a fraction before she quickly composed herself. She grinned, and cockily placed her hands on her hips.

"Nah, I'd remember someone as fucking ugly as you!" She said tauntingly, grinning even wider when she noticed a vein throbbing on his neck, and Luffy laughing in the background only made her grin grow larger.

Buggy laughed and stuffed swords between his fingers. "You're dead now, girlie!" He screamed, and licked the blade of his sword.

Kestrel's eye twitched. "How dare you take advantage of a defenseless weapon - you pervert!"

The Buggy Pirates sweat dropped.

Kestrel shoved her guns into there holsters and whipped the knives out of her boots. Buggy's pirates started to cheer for him, and Buggy himself waster no time in charging towards Kestrel. Kestrel smirked. She was able to easily side-step him, and twist her body around as she spun her knives before slicing them through Buggy's flesh with precise accuracy.

"Your moves are predictable!" Kestrel said tearing her blades from his body. Buggy collapsed to the ground in pieces, and Kestrel stashed her weapons back in their rightful place with a triumphant grin.

"Oh wow! He's weak! Way to go Kess!" Luffy yelled his approval.

Everything was silent. A little too silent. It took Kestrel a moment to notice that the Buggy pirates were grinning, snickering even. Not one of them seemed the least bit fazed that their Captain had just been sliced into pieces.

 _Their awfully calm_. Kestrel narrowed her gaze. _Their Captain was just killed...but their smiling? Wait, what did those three idiots back on the boat say about this guy?_

Kestrel thought back to the boat that pirates of Buggy's that they had taken hostage.

 _ **"So, tell me what's so scary about this guy again?" Kestrel asked the dark-skinned one. "What was his name? Rugby, or Tugby?"**_

 _ **"You've never heard of Buggy the Clown?!" The leader of their little group yelled. If I knew would I be asking? "He's the ruthless leader of our pirate ship, and he's eaten one of the Devil Fruits! But above everything else; he is one truly terrifying man."**_

 _ **Kestrel scoffed at them. "Like I'm scared of someone called 'Buggy the Clown'. Give me a break." She rolled her eyes. "And having Devil Fruit powers doesn't mean jack. It doesn't make him invincible. I'll prove that to you when I kick his ass!"**_

Kestrel's eyes widened. Buggy had eaten a Devil Fruit! How the hell could she have forgotten that?! Kestrel barely had time to register what was happening. She saw everything in slow motion: Buggy pulling himself back together, and Luffy screaming for her to move. She didn't even have time to think or breath when she was suddenly shoved to the ground, and the sound of flesh being pierced was ringing through her ears.

 _"Z-Zoro?!"_

Kestrel stared wide-eyed at the former pirate hunter. His face was twisted with pain. The tip of a sword stuck of his stomach, straining his haramki and shirt with blood.

"AUUGHH!" Zoro yelled out and pain and collapsed to the ground. Sweat dribbled down his forehead, and blood pooled on the ground around him.

"What the fuck were you thinking, idiot?!" Kestrel screamed at him over Luffy's own yelling.

Buggy's still alive!" Nami gasped.

"W-What the hell?!" Zoro reached around to pull the sword out, but it had ripped its self out of his body and was floating in the air, held by a disembodied hand. This must be the abilities of his Devil Fruit.

Kestrel dug her fingernails into the palms of her hands. She was careless! She should have know that was too damn easy!

"The Chop-Chop Fruit." Buggy chuckled darkly as his hand reattached its self to his body. "That's the name of the Devil Fruit that's given me my powers. I'm a Chop-Chop person and now, I can never be defeated by the sword!" he bellowed followed by maniacal laughter.

"His limbs reattach?! And I always thought that the Devil Fruits were just a story that pirates told!"

"No, there real," Kestrel told Nami. "And there dangerous."

"So he's a Chop-Chop man?" Luffy asked. "That's pretty freaky!" Says the guy made of rubber.

"I didn't hit any vital organs, but that's a serious wound you have there," Buggy sniggered. "So I'm guessing that I am the winner!" He laughed as his cronies cheered him on.

"I let my guard down!" Kestrel hissed. "I can't believe I made such a rookie mistake!" _And I wasn't even the one to pay the price for it_. Kestrel frowned as Zoro struggled to stand. _You idiot! Why did you have to go an play hero?!_

In the midst of all the tension going around, Luffy had decided to make his voice known.

"STABBING HIM IN THE BACK WAS A COWARDLY MOVE - YOU BIG NOSE!"

Everything went quiet. The Buggy Pirates stared at Luffy with dropped jaws and lifeless eyes. And Buggy, he was shaking with rage. Did one little comment about his nose really get him that mad?

"What's that you said?" Buggy hissed. "WHO'S GOT A BIG NOSE?!" He screamed throwing a knife at Luffy.

"LUFFY!" Kestrel yelled.

Luffy could stand against a bullet, but a knife would slice right through him - and he had no way of defending himself while he was tied up in that damn cage!

"Luffy!" Zoro shouted.

The knife soared through the air and into the cage. Kestrel feared that Luffy had been hit, but then he started to laugh, and looked up with the blade caught between his teeth.

Kestrel sighed and place a hand against her chest.

"Buggy!" His yell was muffled by the blade. "I'm going to kick your ass as soon as I get out of this cage!" Luffy grinned and snapped the blade in half.

"Bwahahahaha! You kick my ass?! You've got a lot of nerve, kid! Now I'm afraid all four of you are going to die here today, and by my own hand!" Buggy grinned at them while his pirate buddies laughed. "So if you're going to do any 'ass kicking' you better do it soon!"

Luffy started to laugh and craned his neck forward. "I refuse to die! Zoro, get up!" Luffy ordered him. Kestrel looked at him like he was insane - which wasn't far from the truth!

"You better have a really good plan or else we're all dead!" Nami yelled angrily. "So, what are you guys going to do?!" Luffy's grin didn't answer Nami's question, but Zoro and Kestrel understood perfectly.

"Right." Kestrel smirked and stuck up a thumb.

"I got you." Zoro grinned darkly.

Buggy charged at Zoro with his swords and the two engaged in combat. Zoro smirked, and shot Kestrel a look that she returned with a nod and took off running towards the canon. Kestrel slid beneath it and pressed her back to it. Kestrel grunted as she tried her best to tip it backwards; but it was heavier than it looked.

"Heavy...son of a bitch...!" Kestrel grunted out.

Suddenly, Zoro was beside her having sliced through Buggy and ran over. Together, they lifted the canon and flipped it so it was facing Buggy and his crew. Zoro dropped to his knees and panted. Kestrel figured it took a lot out of him with his wound.

Buggy and his pirates started screaming and panicking while Kestrel lit the fuse.

She smirked as Buggy and his cronies screams were silenced the sound of a deafening explosion.


	4. Beast Tamer Mohji

**Red Hawk**

 _"Life is either a daring adventure of nothing at all."_

 **Summary:** Kestrel has grown up in the shadow of her relatives and is determined to make herself a name in the world. She wants to be someone that everyone knows; someone people respect, and fear. She's aware that the journey won't be easy, especially with Luffy as her Captain, and an annoying swordsman constantly making her life hell, and one of the most dysfunctional crews she's ever come across. But Kestrel knows that one day she'll look back on these days, and have no regrets for the adventure that was on the sea isn't always grand...but she wouldn't trade it for all the treasure in the world.

 **Warning:** This story contains explicit language, violence, death, gore, and mentions of sexual content. If that doesn't suite your cup of tea, then I suggest you look elsewhere.

* * *

" _What the actual fuck are you doing, you idiot?! Are you trying to kill yourself?!"_

Kestrel couldn't believe what she was seeing! The man had just been stabbed and what does he do?! Goes and lifts the giant ass cage Luffy was trapped in, onto his back like it was nothing!

Zoro was panting heavily and blood was pouring from his wound. At this point, he would bleed out, or pass out from exhaustion.

 _And it's all my fault._

Kestrel scowled. She had gotten cocky, and it resulted in somebody having to save her, and getting hurt in the process; not something she wanted hanging over her head.

"You okay, Zoro?" Luffy asked. "How bad are you injured?"

Kestrel slapped her hand against her face. "He's obviously _not okay_ , Luffy! He got stabbed, and he's probably going to bleed out if we don't find his dumb ass some help!"

"Both of you just shut up and don't worry how I'm doing!" Zoro grunted. "I just need to cocentrate...if I'm going to get us out of this..." he strained to say.

 _Yeah, real convinving, String-Bean._

"Who...is this guy?" Kestrel looked over at Nami who looked shocked by Zoro's display of strength and bravery, though she would call it _'idiocy'._

"Hey Luffy, who's this? Who's the girl?" Zoro panted.

"She's our new navigator." Luffy asnwered.

This took Kestrel by surprise. "Wait, really?" She looked at Nami.

"Just who are you guys anyway?!"

"M-Move! You're in the way!" Zoro growled. He struggled to adjust the cage on his back and in the process tore his wound open further.

Kestrel balled her fists and glared at him. "What are you trying to prove?! All you're doing is making your wound worse, you jack ass!"

"S-Shut the hell up and let's go!"

Nami and Kestrel watched Zoro walk away; struggling with every step he took. Kestrel would never understand guys like him, the one's who put their pride before everything else.

"I guess even lowly pirates can save their friends..." Nami whispered to herself.

Kestrel glared at Nami. "You better watch that tone, Red. You'll come to know that we aren't like other pirates," Kestrel smiled lightly. "Luffy's an idiot, sure; but he's got the biggest heart and spirit out of anyone I've ever met - and that's why I'll follow him to the grave, because he's not only my Captain; but my brother as well.

Nami watched silently as Kestrel ran to catch up with Zoro and Luffy.

* * *

Kestrel could only sigh as she caught the swordsmen over her shoulder as he was tumbling to the ground. He had managed to somehow carry Luffy all the way in to town, and seemed to finally reach his limit.

"Easy does it, String-Bean." Kestrel grunted, and slowly lowered him to the ground.

 _"Doggy!"_

Kestrel turned her head to see Luffy scooting his cage closer to a small white dog with a brown nose. With nothing betting to do, she plopped down on the ground beside Zoro and watched whatever was about to happen. It's Luffy, nothing ever goes right for him.

The dog glared at Luffy with its tongue poking out of its mouth. Luffy began making face at the dog; but it didn't move or flinch, it didn't even blink.

"That dogs creeping me out." Kestrel said and leaned back some.

"Zoro, Kess, it looks like this dog is frozen!" Luffy laughed.

"Yeah, I guess." Kestrel shrugged.

Zoro grunted and sat up straight with a moan of pain. "I don't give a damn, he could sit there forever for all I care." Zoro sighed.

Kestrel could understand why he was annoyed, considering he had been stabbed and then had to drag Luffy throughout town.

"I wonder if it's dead?"

Kestrel frowned and tilted her head up. "Could be stuffed." She shrugged. She doubted that was the case.

Luffy stretched his arm out of the cage and towards the dog and Kestrel could just _feel_ the accident waiting to happen. Like she expected, Luffy poked the dog in the head and it responded by chomping down on his rubbery face. Kestrel didn't even bother helping Luffy, he pretty much deserved it. It's his fault their in this shitty situation in the first place.

"Luffy! Quit joking around and get serious!"

Kestrel could only groan when both Zoro and Luffy collapsed.

 _"Damn dog." "I don't feel good."_

Idiots. She's surrounded by complete, and totaly idiots; how the hell did she wind up in this situation again? Oh yeah, because she agreed to sail the world with a moron for a Captain.

The sound of footsteps had Kestrel raising her head to see Nami. She has even realized she followed them back to town.

"Oh, hi navigator!" Luffy grinned.

"I guess you can have this," Nami said shuffling around her skirt. "You got me out of a pretty sticky situation." She said, and tossed a rusted key onto the ground.

"Great, the key to the cage! Did you go steal it for me? Thanks Nami!"

Kestrel sighed, feeling a bit of relief. Once they got Luffy out of that cage, they could get the hell out of here and never come back.

"I only did it so we'd be even," Nami grinned. "And now I don't owe you anything; so we're square, okay?"

Kestrel snorted. "I see, so you're one of those people. I got ya, Red."

"Yeah, sure!" Luffy agreed and went to reach for the key. However the dog, had other plans. The group watched in horror as the dog sucked the key up like a vacuum and swallowed it whole.

Luffy's face twisted in anger and vein bulged on his head. He let out a fearsome growled and grabbed the dog by it's throat, and immediately began to choke it. "Stupid, stupid, stupid dog! Give it back, give it back, that's not food!"

Kestrel laughed loudly and fell onto her back. "Oh my fucking god! Can this day get any worse?!" She laughed. She didn't know if it was because she genuinely found their situation funny; or she was going insane. She had her bets placed that she as going insane. She knew it would happen sooner or later being friends with Luffy.

 _ **"Hey! Stop that! Stop picking on poor Chouchou, leave him alone!"**_

Kestrel and the group all turned to see an angry old man with curly hair stomping their way. Kestrel sighed. Great, more problems on top of the problems they already had; this day really couldn't get any worse.

"Who might you be, old man?" Zoro asked as the man stopped in front of him.

Kestrel noticed that Zoro's speech was slurred a bit, and that he was looking a bit paler. As much as she hated to admit it, she was worried; they needed to find him some medical attention, and soon.

"Old man? Why I'm the Mayor of this town!" The old man loudly declared. "Who are _you_ , and why are you hurting Chouchou?!" The Mayor seemed to calm down when he noticed Zoro's wound. "Oh my, that's quite an injury you have there. I take it that you had a run in with Captain Buggy?"

"Yeah, we ran in to the bastard," Kestrel scoffed. "Real cocky son'sa bitch that one is.".

"We need to get you to a doctor."

The Mayor nodded and scooped down to help Zoro up, and balanced him against his shoulder. Kestrel smiled feeling relieved that Zoro was finally going to get some help. Sighing, she leaned back against the steps and closed her eyes for a quick rest.

* * *

"How's Zoro?" Luffy asked as the Mayor returned.

The mayor sighed. "I told him that he needed to see a doctor, but he insisted that he didn't need to and just wanted to sleep it off."

Kestrel, who had awakened from her short nap, stood up and glared at the Mayor. " _Are you fucking kidding me!?_ He was strabbed - sleeping it off isn't going to make his wound go away! He needs serious medical attention!"

"I tried to tell him that but he wouldn't listen!" The Mayor glared back. "Who knows, maybe you can change his mind?"

Kestrel sighed and thought about it for a minute. "No, he's too stubborn to listen to reason. Just let his dumb ass sleep, for now."

Nami decided to change topic and crouched down by the dog that had eaten the key to Luffy's freedom. She gently petted his head, which it didn't seem to mind.

"So, this dogs name is Chouchou?" Nami asked.

"Hehe, why's he just sitting there like that? He sure is a lazy dog!" Luffy giggled. Kestrel didn't think he was lazy, it seemed more like he was guarding something.

"Oh, it's a pet shop!" Nami smiled.

"That's right, and the man who used to own this store was a very close friend of mine." The Mayor said a bit sullenly. The Mayor then went into the pet shop and returned moments later with a metal bowl full of food that he sat in front of Chouchou, who hungrilly gobbled it down.

"When he passed I resumed the responsibility of taking care of Chouchou."

Kestrel frowned already seeing that this story didn't have happy ending. "So, he died?" She asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Yes, three months ago after fighting his illness for a very long time." The Mayor sighed and closed the shops doors.

"Don't tell me he's been waiting all this time." Nami frowned.

"That seems to be the consensus," The Mayor sighed. "But I find that very hard to believe. Chouchou is a smart dog, he's probably known for a while that his master isn't coming back."

"Then why does he stay here at the store?" Nami asked.

"I think I have an idea." Kestrel said.

She got up from her where she was sitting and walked over to Chouchou. The dog looked at her as she sat down beside him, and gently began to pet him. Chouchou didn't show any signs of discomort and went back to eating, making Kestrel smile.

 _You gotta protect your treasure, don't ya buddy?_

"If I had to take a guess, I'd say that this place is his treasure; he's guarding it." The Mayor took a small drag off his pipe and smiled at Chouchou. "His master left him with this shop and that's why he protects it. I've tried to bring him back to my place so he won't be out in the elements, but he won't take so much as a step away from here."

Chouchou yawned and Kestrel pulled him into her lap. He was tense at first, but slowly relaxed and nuzzled into her pets. "Good boy." Kestrel cooed, and scratched between his ears.

For a moment, everything was calm, but then a growl ripped through the ear, and powerful steps shook the ground.

"Huh? What's that sound?" Nami asked standing up.

The Mayor jumped up from his seat on the steps with a horrified look on his face. "Its him! Beast Tamer Mohji, we gotta run!" The Mayor yelled hiding behind Nami.

"What do you mean beast tamer?!" Nami yelled.

The Mayor continued yelling that they needed to run, and eventually he and Nami did just that.

Kestrel cocked a brow and looked over at Luffy who seemed just as confused as she was. It was then that a giant lion came into view, a sickly shade of green and purple. Kestrel jumped up and armed herself with her pistols as Luffy tried to negotiate with Chouchou to try and get the key back. She didn't see that happening for a very...long time.

 _ **"I see that your friends have deserted you. And after you just escaped."**_

Kestrel glared at the man with white hair, and a cropped fur top. He looked absolutely ridiculous, but the lion he was riding around on didn't look like anything to take lightly.

"Who the heck are you?" Luffy asked tilting his head back to get a better look at Mohji.

"I'm known as The Beast Tamer Mohji; A member of the Buggy Pirates."

Kestrel cocked her hip out and pointed her pistol at him. "So, is it a rule that you all have to have dumb names?"

"That was rude!" Mohji yelled. "My name is very manly!"

"Keep telling yourself that." Kestrel shrugged.

"You're weird." Luffy blinked at him, and Kestrel nodded in agreement.

Mohji scowled and folded his arms over his chest.

"You shouldn't assume you're safe just because you're in that cage. You must not know of my terrifying skill!" Mohji boasted.

Meanwhile, Chouchou was wide awake and alert, and was growling fiercely at the strange pair.

"There is no animal in this world that Beast Tamer Mohji can't bend to do his bidding." Mohji walked over to Chouchou and crouched down. "Shake." he said sticking his hand out to the animal. Chouchou wasted no time in chomping down on Mohji's hand.

Luffy and Kestrel laughed watching the man try to shake the tiny dog off.

"You're lucky, I have no interest in killing you two; but tell me where Roronoa Zoro is!"

Kestrel narrowed her eyes and raised her pistol. "No." She glared sharply at him. She didn't know what this guy wanted with Zoro, but she was about to sell him out, even if he did get on her last nerve.

"Now. Before I change my mind." Mohji threatened.

"No way," Luffy said. "You're not getting Zoro."

 _"Richie, attack!"_

At Mohji's command the lion named Richie immediately sprung into action. Kestrel jumped backwards as the huge maimed beast lunged at her. Richie then turned around and pouched on Luffy, crushing his cage with his weight alone, and freeing Luffy.

"Hey, where were you when we needed you earlier?" Kestrel laughed. "How ya feeling, Cap'n?"

"I feel great!" Luffy grinned and stretched his limbs. "And I'm ready to fight!"

"Of course you are. But, let me take this guy, okay?" Kestrel said drawing her sword. "You just make sure they don't get anywhere near Zoro."

Richie didn't give Luffy a chance to respond; the lion had taken his massive paw, and smacked Luffy across the street into a building.

"LUFFY!"

Kestrel screamed out her brothers name as she quickly ran to the building he had been buried under. She was relieved when Luffy popped his head up, looking unharmed and as oblivious as ever.

"That was intense," Luffy said as he held onto his hat. "But at least now I'm out of that cage!"

"Idiot!" Kestrel screamed and smacked him over the head with her club. She knew it didn't hurt him; it was no Fist of Love, but it brought her satisfaction anyway. "Don't say stupid things like that - you had me worried!"

Luffy blinked at her. "Oh, hey Kess! Have you seen Nami? I still need to convince her to be the navigator of our crew!"

Kestrel sighed and hung her head. "You're so clueless, Luffy."

 _"How did you survive that attack?!"_

Kestrel and Luffy both raised their heads towards Nami who was with the Mayor.

"Y-You're... _alive?!"_ The Mayor yelled in disbelief.

"I just got lucky, I guess," Luffy said scratching his head.

"Surviving an attack like that isn't normal," Nami said. 'I figured you'd be scattered all over!"

Kestrel sighed. "Luffy is an idiot; a durable idiot."

"It's not normal?" Luffy asked.

"Of course it isn't!" Kestrel yelled. "You're the only one _who would_ think it's normal!"

The Mayor looked at Luffy and Kestrel with a frown. "Why exactly did you decide to come to this town, and how'd you get involved with those pirates?!"

"All I'm doing is searching for a chart of the Grand Line, and a good navigator to join my pirate crew," Luffy answered honestly. "I think that guy in the animal suite said he was looking for Zoro; so I gotta go!"

"Oh shit, that's right!" Kestrel scowled. "Wait for me, Luffy!"

Nami watched the two of them leave with an agape mouth. She had never met pirates like them before.

* * *

"W-What the hell happened?!"

Kestrel gasped at the sight before her. The pet store, that Chouchou had spent all his time guarding, was on fire; nothing more than a pile of flaming rubble. Chouchou watched the shop burning, howling his little heart out. Kestrel felt pity and rage. Who could be so cruel to do such a thing?! Her thoughts went to Mohji and his ugly lion.

Kestrel balled her fist. _They were going to pay._ And it seemed it would be sooner than later as Kestrel heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching them. Sure enough, it was Mohji and Richie; the lion held a bag of pet food between it's teeth.

"Wait, I thought I killed you; what are you still doing alive?!" Mohji glared at Luffy.

"I'm afraid you can't get ride of me that easily!" Luffy said with his arms folded and a lop-sided smile on his face.

"This time crush his head into the ground RiCHIIIE!" Mogji shrieked as the lion threw him off and charged at Luffy.

Luffy smirked and wound his arms up, grabbing hold of Richie. "I'm not going to be beaten by a lion!" He taunted and tossed Richie into the air. "Gum-Gum Hammer!" Luffy roared - pile driving the lion into the earth.

"What are you?!" Mohji yelled.

"Well, I ate the Gum-Gum Devil Fruit." Luffy said, in a serious voice that took Kestrel by surprise.

Mohji was sweating nervously and stumbling over his words. "So then you have Devil Fruit powers like Captain Buggy, but yours make you rubber?"

Luffy didn't say anything. Again, it weirded Kestrel out to see him being so serious. He's always been her annoying, spastic, lovable, little brother. Serious didn't suite him - she didn't like it.

Mohji jumped back and Luffy's hat fluttered to the ground. "S-Sorry for attacking! I don't' want any trouble!"

Kestrel glared at him. "You asked for trouble the moment you came after one of our nakama, and burned Chouchou's treasure to the ground; you don't deserve forgiveness."

Mohji gulped looking more and more terrified by the minute.

Luffy stood up and dusted off his clothes. "There's no reason for you to apologize to me; because of you that dog will never get his treasure back. And now," Luffy turned to Mohji. "Because of that; I'm going to kick your ass."

"Count me in." Kestrel said and grabbed the sword from her back.

Mohji was speechless as Luffy stretched out his arm and grabbed him by the throat. The rubber man pulled Mohji toward him and slammed his fist into his face, that was followed by Kestrel shoving the blunt of her blade into his stomach; Luffy finished off by slamming Mohji into the ground, by thrusting his fist into the back of his head.

* * *

Chouchou stopped barking, staring at the broken remnants of the treasure he once held dearly. Nami watched the dog with a heavy heart. Pirates. Pirates were all the same; just a bunch of heartless bastards, who destroy everything that people hold dear without giving it a second thought.

Her head turn as she saw Luffy and Kestrel approaching the ruined shop.

"Oh, you're alive pirates!" She yelled at them with a false smile on her face. "You know, I thought for sure that lion was going to tear your heads off and end it all - and I wished he had because then there'd be two less pirates in the world!"

Luffy and Kestrel stared blankly at her. Had...they done something to upset her?"

"Maybe I should kill your right now before you can gather a crew and destroy everything else!"

Kestrel was surprised when the red-head suddenly charged at them. She was angry, frustrated, near tears. Kestrel looked from the broken shop, to Chouchou, and then back to Nami.

Did...she think they were the ones responsible for it?

The mayor intercepted Nami and held her back. "Come now," The Mayor said. "There's no need for violence." Though it was obvious in his voice that he was hurting too.

"As if you could ever kill me." Luffy scoffed.

"Well maybe I'll try it and see!"

"I said stop! What's with you people?!"

Kestrel frowned, and followed Luffy to Chouchou. Luffy held the the bag of pet food that Richie had discarded in his hands. He set it in front of Chouchou, as Kestrel crouched down in front of him, and gently scratched between his ears. Luffy took a seat beside Chouchou and sighed.

"Sorry, but that's all we could save for ya."

"That bastard lion ate the rest of it." Kestrel frowned.

Nami gasped! They fought the lion...to save the dogs food?

Luffy nodded. "We didn't actually see you defend the store; but we can tell you gave it your all." Luffy smiled.

"Yeah, you're a brave little guy, aren't you?" She smiled down at the dog.

Chouchou looked down at the food and picked it up with his mouth. He then began to walk away, only turning to bark at them. Kestrel smiled and gave a lazy way to Chouchou.

"Thanks, good luck to you too doggy!" Luffy grinned and waved goodbye to him.

* * *

"Sorry about earlier," Nami apologized to Luffy and Kestrel. "I didn't mean to yell at you."

Kestrel wasn't too bothered by it. It wasn't uncommon for people to be distrusting of pirates, and put the blame on them when ever something went wrong.

"That's ok," Luffy said to her. "You've been under a lot of stress lately," Luffy stood up and started dusting off his clothes. "But hey, no need to apologize."

The Mayor started to shaked and clench his fists. "I'm pathetic - Chouchou and these young ones have fought so hard - and yet, I the Mayor, have done nothing but sit back and watch our town be obliterated by Buggy and his despicable crew!"

"Calm down! It's not that bad." Nami told him.

"Forty years ago this whole area was nothing but barren, rugged land," The Mayor sighed, his eyes closed in thought. "We all worked together to create fields for our crops; we opened stores, and built everything from the ground up! This town is a treasure to me, and all it's citizens. From here on out I refuse to let Buggy and his crew terrorize us anymore!"

 _KABOOM!_

The groups eyes widened as half the town was blown away in a matter of seconds. The Mayor collapsed to his knees, saying that Buggy would destroy it all. Luffy and Kestrel's panic set in when they realized that Zoro was sleeping in one of the buildings that had been destroyed.

"ZORO WAS SLEEPING IN THERE!" They yelled, fearful for the swordsman's life.

"I'm sure he's dead now." The mayor said solemnly.

"Zoro! Are you in there - are you still alive?!" Luffy yelled.

"Zoro!" Kestrel cupped her hands over her mouth. "Answer us String-Bean!"

The dust from the rubble cleared, and a gruff voice came from within. Luffy and Kestrel shared big grins as the dust cleared away, to reveal that Zoro was perfectly fine - for the most part.

"That's one hell of a way to wake a guy up." He grumbled. "I could have used a few more Z's."

Kestrel growled and marched over to Zoro, and smacked him over the head. The swordsman grunted in pain and glared angrily at her.

"What the hell was that for, _you stupid poult?!_ "

"For worrying us, _you stupid head of cabbage!_ "

Nami laughed lightly. "How did you survive that blast?"

"Alright, you're alive!" Luffy cheered.

The Mayor shakily stood to his feet and stared down at the ground with a determined look. "I refuse to let him get away with this; I won't stand for it. I can't let this scumbag destroy all that my townsmen have worked for all of these forty years!"

They all watched him silently.

"I am the Mayor of this town," The Mayor threw his fist into the air and yelled to the heavens. "I will protect it and its inhabitants; I swear, to my dying breath!"

Nami ran over and grabbed the Mayor from behind. "Stop it! You can't defeat Buggy!" She yelled, thinking the Mayor was complete crazy for even _thinking_ it.

"Perhaps...but there are some fights that a man can't run from! Isn't that right?!"

Luffy chuckled. "That's right old man!"

"Shut up!" Nami yelled. "Don't lead him on, Luffy! It's dangerous for him to fight Buggy."

Kestrel had to agree. The Mayor was in no position to be taking on Buggy; or anyone in his crew, for that matter.

"I know it's dangerous!" He screamed and took off running, screaming: _"I'M COMING FOR YOU, BUGGY THE CLOWN!"_

"The Mayor...was crying." Nami gasped.

"He was?" Luffy and Kestrel asked. Neither had noticed it.

"Looks like the party is getting more exciting." Zoro chuckled. Luffy laughed and agreed with him.

Kestrel rolled her eyes at him. "You need to focus on healing first, stupid. You can party later."

"What are you, my mom?" Zoro scoffed.

"Please," Kestrel smirked. "As if I would have such a stupid son!"

"The hell did you say to me?!"

"You heard me loud and clear moss head!"

"This is no time for laughter and jokes!" Nami yelled at them.

"Don't worry," Luffy said with a grin. "I stared to grow fond of that old man; there's no way I'd let him die."

"Well, in that case." Zoro said standing and tie his bandana around his head. He ignored Kestrel who was still glaring daggers at him and cursing under breath.

"You're going to go to?! You're wounded!"

"Yeah, so what?" Zoro smirked at Nami. "The injury to my reputation is a lot worse than the injury to my gut."

Kestrel's eye twitched. "And to think I felt sorry for your dumb ass!" She scoffed and walked beside Luffy. "Let's get this over with, yeah?" Kestrel said to Luffy with a smile, knowing he was itching to get back on the sea.

"Uh-huh! If we want to get on the Grand Line then we got to steal that chart back!" Luffy looked back at Nami with an excited face. "Are you going to join are crew, or what? Come on!" He grinned.

"I'll never sink so low as to become a pirate!" Nami said, but then she suddenly smirked and slapped Luffy's outstretched hand. "But I suppose we could team up, in order to achieve our common goal.

Kestrel laughed! She was already starting to like this girl.

* * *

 **End Note:**

 **Fight scenes are so hard! DX**

 **I'm tired now, so last chapter for the night - er, morning, day? It's 7:50 in the morning and I haven't slept a wink.  
**

 **Help me.**


	5. 2018 Update

I am so glad that holiday season is over with. I genuinely have no desire to celebrate the holidays anymore, but that's beside the point. How have you all been? How was your holiday season?

Since it's a new year I've decided that I want to start fresh with my stories. The stories I have now haven't been updated in forever and the plot had been lost and the love I held for the characters no longer there. This especially applies to Heart of Ice, that story has exhausted me and the love I held for Fairy Tail just isn't really there anymore. I think that the story died once the Tenrou Island arc ended and that from there it just seemed to get worse and worse...however, since I've finished the manga and series I have the ability to go back and correct what I think was done wrong, and fix everything that desperately needs it. So, I will be continuing to work on Fairy Tail, but not Heart of Ice. Not now, anyway. I have a new FT story in the works that is a lot more interesting than my current and has characters that I actually enjoy writing for.

I won't tell you much about it right now, other than the fact it's called The Forsaken Children. Oh. So mysterious. Whatever could that mean? No one knows! That's a lie.

The only one who knows is my BCFF.

Now let's move onto stories that are getting rewritten because I've gone back and made changes and upgrades to my characters.

 **Red Hawk:** My One Piece story is something I haven't worked on in forever. I genuinely haven't changed much with this story. Kestrel is still Kestrel, but she's been upgraded to be more interesting and story-worthy, and the plot I originally had has also been upgraded and made for the better. The new version of this story will be known as The Legacy of Red Falcon.

 **Trickery of The Heart: The Threads of Fate:** This story is such a guilty pleasure, man. Just getting to write all kinds of fucked up shit and one of the worst/best pairings I've ever made is such a breath of fresh air. I already said in an update that this story will be rewritten, and the first chapter has been worked on but is nowhere near done yet.

 **Wild Flowers:** The ending of Naruto was terrible, but I still like reading and writing stories for the series, and plus that is my childhood and it will forever hold a special place in my heart. This will also be rewritten.

 **Big Hero:** I hate everywhere I'm going with this story. Da-Xia is so flat to me and that's not how I intended for her to be. I'm redone her character and put more heart and effort into her and I have so many plans for my beautiful child. Yes, I love her a whole lot.

 **Heart of Ice:** Hiatus. Please don't ask me over and over again to update this story. It's not going to happen anytime soon. This story honestly depresses me every time I go back to it and I'd rather work on it when I am ready. Please understand.

New stories are also coming! There's a lot of series that I've always wanted to write for but have been too scared to do so - no more! This year I'm going to conquer my fears and do all the things I've wanted to.

I do have a new account called BrittsieTheDitz. I'll be posting the new stories I create over there while the old ones remain on this account. I've been having a lot of issues with this account so I decided to make a change and start fresh, sorta. Maybe it doesn't make sense to any of your but it does me lol.

Here's to hoping that 2018 is kind to me. Last year was absolutely terrible at getting pancreatitis, losing my cat of fifteen years, and then having to watch my grandmother slowly pass away from lung cancer, leads me to say that it was easily the worst year of my life and that's really saying something with all that absolute bullshit that has been thrown my way.

Each year seems to have some kind of terrible surprise in store for me, so I'm hoping that this year will be a little bit kinder.

Shout out to everyone who has stuck by my side, supported me, or just enjoyed the crap that I write.

I never tell you enough how much I appreciate all of you, but I truly do.

-Brittsie

Ps: Can you guys recommend some new series for me to try out? No harems though, please and thank you. And no more fanservice. I've gotten my fill with Fairy Tail. Also, gore doesn't bother me. It also doesn't have to be anime, you can recommend manga and tv shows, too. Big fan of anything dealing with the supernatural of fantasy.


End file.
